The Press Information Bureau's (PIB) Fact Check unit on Monday strongly refuted claims circulated by the Pakistani military that Indian airbases had been destroyed during recent hostilities. Dismissing the assertion as "misleading and false," PIB accused Pakistan of distorting Indian news footage to misinform its citizens.

The controversy stems from a video shown by Pakistan’s Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), which allegedly used visuals from India TV to suggest Indian media had acknowledged damage to airbases. In response, PIB clarified on X (formerly Twitter):
"Pakistani military in its briefing has shown a video clip aired on @IndiaTV News Channel, implying that Indian channels have admitted to destruction of Indian airbases. This is an attempt by #Pakistan to mislead its own people by editing and cleverly stitching multiple chunks of a larger video. The actual story in the full video says that the attacks were all intercepted, and it shows footage of a Pakistani missile that was shot down."

The misinformation emerged just days after Operation Sindoor was launched by Indian forces in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 civilians, including one Nepali national. The Indian military struck nine identified terror hubs across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) in a pre-dawn offensive on May 7.

Following the operation, both countries agreed to a mutual ceasefire. According to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations reached out to India, and both sides committed to halting all military actions—on land, sea, and air—effective from 5 PM on May 11.

However, within hours of this agreement, Indian air defence units intercepted multiple Pakistani drones, violating the freshly declared ceasefire. The interceptions occurred during blackouts in sensitive areas including Srinagar, Udhampur, Pathankot, Barmer, and Jaisalmer, prompting strong diplomatic pushback from New Delhi.

Addressing the media, Foreign Secretary Misri said, “India takes very serious note of these violations. We urge Pakistan to act with responsibility and prevent any further provocation that may escalate tensions.”

Meanwhile, PIB’s fact-checking arm has also dismissed unverified social media rumours of fresh artillery exchanges along the Line of Control (LoC), calling them “completely baseless.”