Lahore caught in maelstrom stirred up by Indian media

LAHORE:

Lahore, which had already witnessed the downing of seven Indian drones by the armed forces of Pakistan in the first half of the day, found itself swept up in the maelstrom of Indian propaganda.

By the afternoon, several "phantom" attacks were being reported by Indian news channels. However, life in the city remained untouched by the storm, continuing as business as usual.

"Lahore is under attack!" shouted the breaking news across almost all Indian media outlets — a story that, as expected, had likely made its way to their desks courtesy of Indian intelligence agencies. This sent a ripple through the Indian media world, with outlets scrambling to get their contacts (reporters) in Lahore to get a comment on the situation.

However, even those on the ground in Lahore were taken aback by the queries, unsure of the reality behind the reports.

In an attempt to clear the fog of uncertainty, local reporters swiftly reached out to law enforcement and government officials for confirmation. Despite being fact-checked and debunked, Indian media stubbornly pushed the narrative of phantom attacks.

Then, as if on cue, fictitious reports surfaced about a missile strike in the Raiwind area, attributed to Indian forces. The propaganda machine churned out another falsehood, further muddying the waters.

This marked the second false breaking story of the day. Earlier, war-hungry Indian media had claimed that Lahore's air defence system had been neutralised by Indian drones, forcing the city to suspend its air traffic.

While the closure of flight operations was indeed due to repeated incursions from India, the claim of an "air defence neutralisation" was thoroughly debunked.

Given India's relentless aggression, the government exercised caution, and educational institutions were closed until Sunday.

To further bolster preparedness, the Chief Minister of Punjab directed the district administration to oversee civil defence drills. In line with this directive, Rescue 1122 initiated mock exercises across various cities in Punjab.

As part of these preparations, civil defence exercises were set to commence in Rawalpindi, Murree, Jhelum, Chakwal, Sargodha, Narowal, Gujranwala, Hafizabad and Sialkot, with mock drills already underway in Sahiwal, Pakpattan, Multan, Khanewal, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, Vehari, Hafizabad and other cities.

On the special instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, a state-of-the-art control room was set up at the Directorate General of Public Relations (DGPR).

This was done to ensure that accurate, timely, and authentic information is disseminated to the public during emergencies and extraordinary situations.