Pakistan Field Marshal Asim Munir gifts morphed photo of Chinese military exercise
The Hindu
Pakistan's Field Marshal caught passing off Chinese military image as Pakistan's success in Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos against India.
Pakistan’s Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, in a public embarrassment, has been caught passing off a 2019 image of exercises being carried out by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, as evidence of Pakistan’s operational success in Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos against India.
As per a press release by the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces, at a dinner event held by Pakistan Field Marshal Munir “to honour the political leadership, steadfast commitment of the Armed Forces, and the indomitable spirit of the people of Pakistan,” he gifted a framed image to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif showing rocket launches. ‘Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos’ reads the title below the image, while the caption below that describes an operation by the Regiment of Pakistan Artillery.
Also read | What war hysteria hides: deaths, destruction, disinformation
The Pakistan Army named its retaliation to India’s Operation Sindoor as ‘Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos.
What comes off as odd is the image’s striking resemblance to an earlier image available on the website of China’s Ministry of Defence.
The 2019 image by Chinese military displays a night raid exercise of long-range multiple launch rocket systems in northwest China.
While China’s image contains only a singular rocket launcher prominently in the frame, the image being presented by Mr. Munir to Mr. Shehbaz prominently shows at least three launchers operating simultaneously. However, only a cursory glance at both the images reveal the same exact background showing a large plume of smoke behind the Chinese launcher and the purported Pakistani launchers. This points to an alleged morphing of the original image released by China.
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