Revoke licence of channels that showed cleric as terrorist: Kin

Family members of Qari Mohammad Iqbal, a Muslim cleric who used to teach at a local seminary in Poonch have demanded that the licence of the news channels who portrayed him as a terrorist be revoked immediately.

After the Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor in May, Pakistan started indiscriminate ceasefire violation by shelling the civilian areas in Poonch. Qari was one of the 14 victims who died in the district due to Pakistani shelling. A shell exploded near him causing grievous injuries to him causing his death.

A court in Poonch late last month directed the police to register a case and initiate an investigation into “defamatory and false reporting” during Operation Sindoor. The Poonch police were directed to register a formal FIR in the case.

The court’s directive came after an application was filed by lawyer Sheikh Mohd Saleem seeking the registration of an FIR against the channels for allegedly committing cognisable offences under BNS, 2023.

Farooq Ahmed, brother of Qari, said “Nothing less that cancellation of the licence of the news channels is acceptable to the family. These channels — without any fact-check — branded my brother as a terrorist by running his photos live on television. It was an insult not only to the family but to all nationalists who have always worked for the country.”

After the death of Qari, who was a teacher at Jamia Zia-ul-Uloom, Poonch, his photo started circulating on social media with a false claim that he was a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorist who was killed in Indian strikes in Pakistan. The story was run with photo on some news channels.

It was a double whammy for the family of Qari who were grieving his death. “His death was due to Pakistani shelling and he was made a terrorist by our own media. This was an irony which should be corrected by the government by cancelling the licences. Their social media handles should also be restricted so that no one ever becomes a victim of fake news,” said Tariq Manzoor, nephew of Qari.

J & K