A letter claiming to note about mass resignations in the Pakistan army amid the 'ongoing tensions' with India has gone viral on social media.
The claim: It noted that "250 officers and 1,200 enlisted personnel" had resigned from Pakistan's army.
The alleged reason for resignations was "family pressures, mental fatigue, and uncertainty about the strategic directives amidst escalating tensions with India."
Indian journalist Aditya Raj Kaul also posted this letter and stated, "Huge. Mass resignations are being reported in Pakistan Army as morale is at its lowest under Asim Munir’s leadership."
What we found: At first, we ran a relevant keyword search to see if any credible reports or government sources had reported on the contents of the letter.
However, a few notable Indian media organisations such as the Economic Times carried a story about this letter.
We then checked the government websites and social media pages of Pakistan's prime minister's office and the chief of army staff, however, did not find anything about this viral letter.
Team WebQoof, then, reached out to Lubna Jerar Naqvi, a fact-checker and a journalist from Pakistan who said that the letter was "fake" as the position of the Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry is Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) since 6 December 2022.
We, then, ran another keyword search to check whether the DG ISPR had issued any press releases regarding the alleged resignations, however, we did not find anything.
Leading english daily, the Dawn published a fact-check regarding this letter which noted, "At one place, the letters clearly say “Pakistan Jinabad” while the Pakistani abbreviation is “Pakistan Zindabad." (sic.)
It also noted the wrong person mentioned in the position of the DG ISPR.
Reports about resignations in the army from March: An article by India.com stating an Afghan news outlet called Kabul Frontline reported that around 2,500 soldiers reportedly quit Pakistan's army.
This was attributed to the growing insecurity and violence in the country, particularly in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the "rebel group" Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) had carried out several attacks on the military.
The deteriorating security situation and the worsening economic conditions in Pakistan had allegedly led many soldiers to seek financial security abroad, preferring to work as labourers in Gulf countries rather than risk their lives.
The Afghan news outlet also posted about this on their official X page on 8 March, as well.
However, we did not find any confirmation by Pakistan's official sources such as the army chief, ISPR or the government.
Conclusion: A fake letter has gone viral to falsely claim that mass resignations happened in Pakistan's army following the recent attack in Pahalgam and heightened tensions with India.
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