Naseem Akhtar, 40, lives a modest life in a simple home perched atop a hillock in Baila village in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. Around her, a group of curious children gather, their curious eyes fixating on every unfamiliar visitor. Every Friday, the gang would wait eagerly for hours, hoping for their father's arrival when he would bring them sweets, fruits, and clothes.
But, on 7 May, when the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on Pakistan, everything changed. Their father, Qari Mohammad Iqbal, was killed in Pakistan's cross-border shelling along the Line of Control, and hours after his demise, he was wrongly identified as a 'Pakistani terrorist' by his own country's media.
“These reports were carried without any verification. Not only the family, but the whole village was vilified.”Choudhury Tariq Manzoor, nephew of the deceased
Almost two months on, on 28 June, a local court has taken serious note of the incident—and ordered Jammu & Kashmir Police to register an FIR against the news channels, offering some respite to Iqbal's family.
A Life Cut Short
On the fateful day, the 47-year-old madrasa teacher was inside his room at the seminary when a shell hit a nearby under-construction building. Though the building was a few metres away, the splinters from the shell pierced through the door into the teacher's room and hit him in the face.
According to the family, Iqbal was bleeding profusely and succumbed to his injuries soon after. But the trials of Iqbal's bereaved family were far from over. The news of Iqbal's death hadn't even sunk in when some news channels in New Delhi branded Iqbal as a “wanted terrorist”, claiming he was killed by security forces in Kotli city of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. Flashing a picture of Iqbal's bloodied body, the channels portrayed him as a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant—and presented his death as a “success” for India's forces.
“We were absolutely shocked to hear this news,” said Manzoor.
The channels that broadcast the news, as per Manzoor, include Zee News and News18, among others. The Quint was among the first to fact-check their false claim.
A Cruel Ordeal
Iqbal was born in Baila village in 1978 to a humble family. He undertook Islamic education in Poonch and then later moved to Maharashtra where he memorised the Quran. Upon completing his studies, he became a "Qari" (one who has mastered the skillful art and strict rules of reciting the Quran).
He then returned to Poonch and undertook a job at Jamia Zia-ul-Uloom, one of J&K’s largest and oldest Islamic seminaries in Poonch district, as a teacher in 2012, earning a monthly stipend of Rs 15,000.
Iqbal had two wives, Naseem and Shamshad Akhtar, and eight children. While Naseem stayed back in the village to take care of the children, Iqbal lived in Poonch city along with his second wife and would visit his village every weekend. Shamshad was also a religious scholar and used to teach at the girls' wing of the same madrasa.
Many rememberd Iqbal as a "down-to-earth man who always minded his own business". Despite being from a poor Gujjar family—a nomadic Scheduled Tribe in the region—he managed to pursue his education and earned a respectable name for himself in the society.
“He was a very humble person. He would never argue with anyone,” recalled Maulana Syeed Ahmed Habib, vice principal of the madrasa where Iqbal taught.
Many of the villagers The Quint spoke with not only vouched for him, but also maintained that the news channels had defamed the whole community.
“We weren’t even allowed to grieve. We were pushed into a fight to prove his innocence,” said Manzoor.
“We reached out to the local police for an FIR but it could not be processed due to certain complications. The district police was very cooperative and issued the statement soon after I informed them about this issue."
Even though the J&K government the very next day clarified that reports of Iqbal being a "terrorist" were “baseless and misleading” and warned of “legal action” against those TV channels, no action was taken.
The Court's Observation
The family then knocked on the door of a local court in J&K which sought a report on the incident from the police. The police report acknowledged news channels Zee News and News18 had initially aired information, stating that the deceased was a "Pakistani terrorist". However, the station house officer (SHO), as per the court order, noted that after receiving “clarificatory inputs”, the said channels withdrew their earlier assertions and issued an apology.
The SHO further submitted that the said broadcast originated from media headquarters in Delhi and that no complaint was received from the family of the deceased, hence, no FIR was registered in that case.
On 28 June, the court then ordered police to register an FIR against the news channels under Sections 353 (2) (public mischief), 356 (defamation) and 196 (1) (promoting enmity between different religious groups) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (dishonest or fraudulent act using computer). The court also directed the SHO of Poonch police station to file a compliance report within seven days.
The court noted that given the digital reach of satellite media, it is the place where defamatory content is consumed and causes reputational damage that determines jurisdiction. It observed that while the freedom of the press was a “vital part of democracy protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution”, this freedom was “subject to reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2) on the grounds of defamation, public order, decency or morality”.
The court further stated that “irresponsible reporting of this nature, whether arising from negligence or otherwise, becomes particularly dangerous when broadcast through national media channels.“
“In today's digital era, misinformation can spread rapidly, creating confusion and unrest. The media, being the fourth pillar of democracy, has an ethical and constitutional obligation to ensure that the content it publishes is accurate, fair, and verified...” it stated, adding, “The subsequent apology by the news channels does not cure the mischief already caused."
The Quint has reached out to both News18 and Zee News for their response. The report will be updated as and when they respond.
Buried With a ‘Terrorist’ Tag
Back at Iqbal's hometown, the villagers are yet to come to terms with the fact that Iqbal is no more. However, what haunts them most is that the tag of “terrorist” still lingers over his name, casting a shadow on his memory and the family he left behind.
Despite the police clarification and the court order, many news channels have yet to issue an apology. Instead, videos branding Iqbal as a terrorist are still circulating on YouTube as of 3 July.
For Naseem, Iqbal’s first wife, life won’t be the same. She has four kids, including three daughters and a son with disabilities.
“There is no one to look after the family. Two of my daughters are yet to be married... and now there is no one to earn. I am very worried for them."Naseem Akhtar, Iqbal's first wife
The government provided a compensation of Rs 11 lakh and a government job to the family. Naseem received Rs 7 lakh and the government job, while the second wife was given Rs 5 lakh.
Shamshad now lives in the same house with her four children. Her father’s family is well-off, and her three brothers are employed in government jobs. They all live just a stone‘s throw away from Iqbal's house.
“I don’t know how life will treat me now but what bothers me more is the way my husband was vilified and branded as a terrorist,” she said.
Sheikh Mohd Saleem, an advocate based in Poonch, who represented the family in the local court, termed the court order “historic“, hoping that it will push news channels in future to verify the facts before publishing.
“Not only the family but the whole district was agitated to see these news reports."Sheikh Mohd Saleem
Like other border districts, Poonch witnessed heavy shelling during the recent Indo-Pak cross-border escalation, killing 12 in the district, and injuring over 40 others. Even the main town was affected by the shelling.
The shelling near the Zia-ul-Uloom madrasa injured five children as well. “The students sustained minor injuries. They are safe but deeply missing their teacher,” said vice principal Habib, adding, “They were also deeply disturbed by the terrorist tag on their beloved teacher.”
(Auqib Javeed is an independent journalist from Jammu and Kashmir reporting on politics and human rights.)