Fact Check: Indian Army targeting civilian homes in PoK after Pahalgam attack? No, video is from 2019

Hyderabad: A video claiming to show the Indian Army destroying civilian houses in PoK in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack is going viral on social media. At least 26 people were killed in a deadly terror attack in the Baisaran Valley, Pahalgam — over 100 km south of Srinagar — on April 22, 2025. India has accused Pakistan of backing the attack.

Sharing the video on X (formerly Twitter), a user wrote: “The Indian Army has started a war on the border. People in Pakistan themselves are making videos and saying that many houses in PoK were destroyed by Indian Army firing.” (Translated from Hindi) [(Archive)]

The same video was shared by another X user with the caption: “Indian Army is scared of Pakistan. It is targeting civilians. India cannot fight a war with Pakistan.” This post is now withheld in India in response to a legal demand. An archive of this post can be seen here.

Posts making similar claims can be seen here, here, and here. (Archive 1, Archive 2, and Archive 3)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading. The video is from 2019 and does not show the Indian Army’s action after the Pahalgam terror incident.

We did not find any news reports or credible social media claims stating that the Indian Army is targeting civilians in PoK in retaliation to the Pahalgam incident. We also found no reports of military strikes against Pakistan.

Using reverse image search of the video’s keyframes, we found that the viral video was uploaded to an X post thread on 24 October 2019. The video was captioned, “VIDEO #2: Another footage from Neelum region. #LoC #AJK”

In another post from the same thread, the user wrote: “BREAKING: Heavy clashes ongoing now between India and Pakistan armies along LoC. Indian shelling in Neelum region has killed two (a father and his son) civilians on Pakistani side. #LoC”

In a third video from the thread, a person can be seen speaking in front of the same pink-colored house seen in the viral video.

A Times of India report published on 20 October 2019, titled “Indian Army launches artillery attack on terror camps in PoK; 4 launch pads targeted,” discusses the Indian Army’s strike on the Neelum Valley.

The same is confirmed by an NDTV report published the same day, titled “3 Terror Camps In PoK Destroyed, 6–10 Pak Soldiers Killed: Army Chief.”

The report states that the Indian Army launched attacks on terror camps located inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on 20 October 2019. Three camps were destroyed and six to ten Pakistani soldiers were killed, according to Army Chief Bipin Rawat.

It further notes: “Sources said the terror launch pads in Neelum Valley—opposite the Tangdhar sector of Kupwara—were destroyed in the artillery strikes. The artillery strike was in retaliation to the support provided by the Pakistan Army to push terrorists into Indian territory.”

Al Jazeera also published a report on the same day titled, “India, Pakistan trade barbs over deadly Kashmir clash.” It states: “Several soldiers and civilians killed on both sides, as India and Pakistan blame one another for ‘unprovoked’ firing.”

Therefore, it is clear that the viral video does not show Indian Army action on Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack. The video has been online since at least 24 October 2019.

However, we were unable to independently verify the location of the viral video.

India suspends treaty, Pakistan claims 'credible evidence' of Indian military strike

In response to the Pahalgam terror incident, the Indian government suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan, and shut down the Attari Checkpost.

As part of the search operation for the terrorists who shot tourists in Pahalgam, the Indian Army has carried out demolitions of their houses.

Meanwhile, several news outlets—including The Indian Express, Hindustan Times, and The Economic Times—published reports on 30 April 2025 stating that Pakistan’s Information Minister has issued a statement regarding an imminent military strike by the Indian Army.

The Indian Express reported: “In a statement released on social media platform X late Monday evening, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting Tarar claimed that Islamabad has ‘credible intelligence that India intends carrying out military action against Pakistan in the next 24–36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident.’”

However, the viral video claiming to show a recent Indian Army strike is old and has been online since at least 2019. While its exact location remains unverified, it is not related to the recent events in Pahalgam.