In the wake of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, targeting terror camps across the border. But as Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling, a heartbreaking tragedy unfolded in Jammu & Kashmir’s Poonch district. Among the 12 civilian casualties was Qari Mohammad Iqbal — a respected Islamic scholar and teacher at Jamia Zia-ul-Uloom, who had gone to the local market to buy food for his students. He was shot dead in the barrage. What followed was not national mourning — but shameful media manipulation. Mainstream TV channels like Zee News, News18, and Republic TV ran unverified reports labeling Qari Iqbal as a terrorist, a Lashkar member, and even falsely linking him to the Pulwama attack. No evidence. No official statement. Just manufactured narratives to turn a civilian’s death into a “successful operation.”