Fact checking: Government debunks claims of India attacking Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, other disinformation
The government on Saturday (May 10, 2025) debunked claims that India had launched a drone attack on the Nankana Sahib gurdwara in Pakistan.
"A video shared on social media is claiming that India has carried out a drone attack on the Nankana Sahib gurdwara. This claim is completely fake," the PIB Fact Check Unit said.
Such content was being circulated to create communal hatred in India, it said.
Nankana Sahib is the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, and the gurdwara is a revered shrine and pilgrimage centre for Sikhs.
The government also dismissed as "fake" certain social media posts claiming that an Indian pilot ejected from his fighter aircraft in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and that a woman Air Force pilot was captured in Pakistan.
The government also debunked claims that India's power grid had been rendered dysfunctional in a cyberattack by Pakistan, and that there had been a temporary closure of the Mumbai-Delhi airline route.
"These claims are fake," the government said.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has extended the temporary closure of 25 segments of Air Traffic Service (ATS) routes within the Delhi and Mumbai Flight Information Regions due to operational reasons, it said.
The government also said an old video showing Indian soldiers crying was actually of youngsters from a private defence coaching centre celebrating their selection in the Army.
The PIB Fact Check Unit said the video in question was uploaded on Instagram on April 27 and was not related to the Army.
"The video depicts students from a private defence coaching institute celebrating their selection into the Indian Army. The youth in the video reportedly became emotional with joy upon receiving news of their successful recruitment," it said.
The government also debunked reports in a section of foreign media about 10 explosions around the airport in Srinagar on Friday (May 9, 2025), as well as separate claims of blasts near the Jaipur airport.
"These claims are fake. Rely only on official sources for authentic information," a government official said.
The PIB Fact Check Unit also said that claims on social media about destruction of Indian army posts were false and that a video shared in this regard dated back to 2020.
"This video is old and NOT related to any activity post Operation Sindoor. The video was originally uploaded on YouTube on Nov 15, 2020," it said.
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I'm getting my knowledge from open sources, but it's fascinating to see what such an operation can cause, what damage it can inflict, and how well it was prepared. It's quite an impressive military performance, if I may :Do you think this was all Ukraine, or was there support from NATO?Answer:What we know is that the Ukrainians have a very sophisticated drone production. After this war, it will be very interesting for us to see and maybe even purchase. They have a very good way of producing simple but super effective drones. I think what you've seen is a consequence of their years-long development of these Netflix-series-style element was the lorries parked near the airports. That is quite fascinating to see. But I think the devices that struck were Ukrainian productions. You have to see that this is a country that can really produce some very efficient :After Spiders web—while we're still trying to find out exactly what happened—it does seem as if the tables have turned. 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That's not the you find Europe standing right now more vulnerable, more worried, because yesterday the Prime Minister of the UK announced heavy investment in deurbanization? I think you have to face the fact that this war changed Europe profoundly. You cannot imagine how much this war changed Europe because—let me be a bit drastic here—we felt that our army, in the last 20 years, could be small because defense of our territory was not a major task. We never saw the territorial integrity of Germany threatened by any enemy from what people thought was this is an army for out-of-area missions, like UN peacekeeping or Afghanistan missions—small units, very specialized, and specially equipped. That has changed overnight. Now people are realizing that our army was too small, not well-equipped enough, and not good enough to defend the I think Europe is under a direct and imminent threat from Russia. Of course, not Germany as a country, but it is very clear that the Russians are gathering a lot of troops, armament, and tanks at the Finnish border. It's very obvious—you see that on radar photos. They are very close to all the Baltic states and their I think an attack on NATO territory is not excluded, and therefore we have to be prepared. What happened in Germany was that overnight we put a lot of money into our army. The army is changing completely. It started three years ago and is undergoing a deep transformation, turning into a very capable defense one of your chiefs—I think it was the army chief—said that he expects an attack on a NATO country in the next four think there was one very famous German military think tanker—he's very respected in Germany—who said, in a bit of a dramatic way, that he thinks this summer might be the last summer of peace in don't share this assessment. I don't think we are going to war imminently. But what I do share personally, and I think my government is very right when they say this, is that we have to be better have to have an army that has deterrence value. That means more soldiers, better equipment, and more. And that's what we are that you still feel the war is continuing in a sense, we've noticed that in the last few months—or even the last year since Prime Minister Modi went to Moscow—there's been very little of the commentary we saw in the past: that India must do more, that India should step in, that India should have a larger role in stopping the Russian invasion of you think European countries, and particularly Germany, have sort of given up on the idea that India will change its stance?Answer:Frankly, I have to say one thing: if you want to be useful in such a context, the preconditions must be right. The environment must be conducive. Only then can countries like India come into the we've seen with a big American pressure and effort is that people are coming together, sitting down in Istanbul for one hour, then going elsewhere, or last time for two hours, then leaving. So I think you shouldn't spill your weight, clout, or influence in a situation where nothing is going to I understand that India is not really coming to the forefront now because I don't see the Russians seriously considering negotiations. I don't see that. I think they are buying time, and buying time is not a good basis for does the United States stand in this calculus? Because during his previous term, President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of U.S. involvement from German territory. After the Ukraine war, and during the Biden administration, we have still seen close cooperation between the United States and with this renewed effort for less U.S. participation in NATO and asking EU countries to contribute more, where do you see the United States—as an active participant and kind of a net security provider for NATO?Answer:I think we have to say that the United States asking Europe to do more for its own security is, to a certain degree, really justified. We have cashed in on American security for a long time because we didn't feel protection was so necessary. That has changed—protection is now very I think the American demand to put more money into defense is justified. At the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague, my Chancellor will commit to 5% of GDP. Right now, we spend 2%. He will commit to 5% because we feel the urgency of the hour—we have to step are not ready to accept such a threat. The Chancellor says the German army will be conventionally the biggest and strongest in Europe, as it should be. We are the most populous and economically wealthy nation—we have to do that, and I think it's the right know this pleases the current American administration for obvious reasons. So, in spite of the sometimes inconsistent expressions from the American side—ups and downs here and there—there is a kind of means if European partners in NATO are really investing more in their security, Americans will also continue to be on our side. So I'm not so pessimistic about Ambassador, we do see President Trump increasingly frustrated. What's Germany's assessment on a U.S.-brokered peace deal between Russia and Ukraine? Is there a timeframe, or are we looking at a prolonged conversation over here, given that Turkey now says they're willing to host Putin and Zelensky with Donald Trump in the room?And also, you know, on a lighter note but going back to the attack, it seems like it was such a planned attack on Russia that when Zelensky was sitting in the Oval Office with Trump, and Trump continued to humiliate him, he knew exactly what he was planning and what he was going to do, because this must have been put in action or was being planned when he was sitting has shown that they can do something. They are not on the defensive anymore. They have shown that they can take a step ahead. They can really do quite considerable should not forget they really focus on military airports and military devices—unlike the Russians in Ukraine, where you see very clearly civilian targets being bombed regularly. People die regularly because of that. So it's a different warfare, but it's a very impressive one.I think we will have to live with this war for a certain while. I commend the Americans for trying to get all parties around the table. Maybe it will happen. I think it will only happen if Putin himself shows up in Istanbul or wherever. But for the time being, I don't see the Russians really moving a Ambassador, there's a view that even after the peace talks—if there is a halt to hostilities—it will turn into a frozen conflict. Both sides will kind of be frozen in their positions. Do you actually see a Cold War 2.0?Answer:So frozen conflicts—let me say that, you know, there are frozen conflicts in our area. In Georgia there's one, in Moldova there's one, and there was one in Azerbaijan—basically now resolved. But in small and weak countries, that's not so Ukraine, I think, Ukraine has the backing of a lot of countries in the West. It's in our immediate neighborhood, unlike Georgia maybe. And I think that will make a sort of classical Russian frozen conflict more difficult than in other parts of the Russians are excellent in destructive frozen conflicts—it's their specialty, I would say—they are really very good at it. But is that possible in Ukraine? To a certain extent, certainly. But it's not as obvious as it is in, let's say, a very weak Moldovan country, where you basically have a very thin little thread on the other side of the river, where the Russians really try to destabilize and undermine the stability of the not so easy in Ukraine. It's a big country. It's a country that has now learned a lot over the past couple of years. It's not a poor country, actually—it can be wealthy. Agriculture is there. Armament production is there. This is a sort of source of income for the it's not so easy with the frozen conflict. And then you should not forget—the Russians are losing people by the hour. 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But I think that's not sure you want to discuss bilateral issues much more, but I do want to say that there is another view—and I'm sure you've seen it in India—that is not the European view, that actually Russia has come through this war hitting major goals that it wanted to. It is in control of the territory that it annexed in 2022. Nothing seems to have pushed them back, even if it's 1 or 2%. Ukraine has now relinquished the areas that they had taken in Russia. By and large, Russia has a life outside of the war. I mean, we've seen the Malaysian Prime Minister's there today. Prime Minister Modi has visited. The rest of the world—the non-European world—is dealing with Russia. Answer:I think it's a good point, and I think we should look at Russia through a different angle. But you should not forget—the first and main requirement from the Russians when they talked to the Americans about a ceasefire was lifting the sanctions. That means they're hurting big you know, it is true that the Russian economy somehow muddled through. They even come to India, the Russian tourists with lots of cash in their bags in order to pay the hotels and stuff. But at the end of the day, I would say Russia lives on a war economy. It has blown up its budget big time for the war economy, that's producing arms and armament products endlessly. And this, as we all know, can only last so I think they know that they are in a very, very difficult spot, and they need to get rid of the sanctions at some stage. When we talk about the regions, you also have to face the fact that in spite of all the efforts, in spite of the massive military deployment they have—when it comes to airplanes, tanks, but also to people—they have really not moved very much annexed regions were never completely and are not in Russian hands. So it is true they get this eastern 18% or whatever it is, but they have said that the condition is that they get all the regions, also the parts they have not I think they have basically succeeded in getting their country going. It's not a complete breakdown, but it came at a big cost so far. And I think they will not sustain forever. This is so, so costly for them. They will have to at some forward the conversation on Russia and India's position on Russia with Trump. I mean, with Biden we knew that Europe had a position very much similar to what he is saying, but with Trump in power now, it just seems like India is on the right side of history in when you talk about India-Russia, it's automatically coming to Trump—interesting enough. Every foreign policy conversation comes to I think India has had a very good start with the Trump administration. I would say an impressive start. But not everything is good between India and the U.S., and that is basically true for all is the trade deal that still has to be done—I think that won't be easy. You're seeing the steel tariffs coming up again. So I think India started on a very good foot with President Trump, but there are also some aspects that will be difficult for India. And we are all in the same company, you about the students now being asked to leave the United States of America universities?Answer:Let me come in here, because that's the message I really want to tell country is keen on having students from India. We want students from India. We have made excellent experiences with students from if you want a first-class education—let's say in the STEM area—Germany is really a very good alternative. And I will tell you, we don't check social media of students. If you are gifted, if you are ambitious, if you want to achieve something, you get a first-class education in one of Europe's most sophisticated research environments at a very low I think now is the time to think about Germany. We have 50,000 students of Indian origin in Germany, and we are ready to take more. I don't—I frankly do not understand how one can limit the number of foreign, dedicated, ambitious students to a country who are even ready to pay $60,000 to $70,000 fees alone for universities in the you know, go to Munich, which is maybe—Technische Universitt Mnchen is one of the world's best technical universities. Fees for non-Europeans are 4,000 a year. So it's an easy Is this Trump's loss—to actually come out and say that you don't want foreign students? Because now we're seeing other countries come in and say, 'We are here. We are a better alternative.'Answer:So I will tell you what I think. The 20% right-wing party is very worrying, and I don't make any secret of that. It should really be a wake-up call for the established parties in Germany—for the political forces in Germany—in many I will tell you that we had the head of this party here just last week in India. And when you talk about skilled labour, he recognises that Germany needs skilled labour. Officially, they say as long as people get their jobs, pay their taxes, and are productive members of society, they have no problem with how far that is true—difficult to say. But officially, I think it is not that they say, 'Let's go back to bio-Germany,' you know, where everybody is white and blonde. That's not what they're saying, in certain areas we have a demographic problem—nobody can deny that. And Germany has made good experiences with When you speak to Indian students or Indian universities looking to place students—I mean, I've been covering immigration for some years—and now I see that even our government has stopped speaking up for more visas and that sort of thing, because everybody knows every country is what the Indian government is working on is these mobility partnerships. Do you think this is the future? In the old days, Indians went to the Gulf, but they never got residency. They never got citizenship in the country they were working in, which was different with Europe, of you think the next generation of students should be prepared in India that they will get permits to work in other countries, but that era of citizenship for Indians in other countries may be drying up?Answer:No, I don't think so, frankly. In Germany, you go to Germany, you graduate from a German university, and after that, you have 18 months to find a job—so a year and a half to find a years after you settle in Germany, you can have nationality. And that's something which is very generously offered in a way. Once you have to prove that you speak German and do a little test—which is basically very easy, I have to say—then you get German nationality, and many people go for if you don't want German nationality—which in an Indian case is absolutely understandable, because you have to give up your Indian passport, not from the Germans but from the Indian side—then you can have a permanent residence in Germany without getting nationality. It's not a prerequisite. You can choose either or. Demography says, as a science in a way, that one of the most interesting phenomena of migration is what we call circular migration. So you go, you study in Germany, you graduate, you get an engineering job in a German company. And after 7–8 years, you go back to India with your knowledge, with your foreign experience, and bring that into your new basically the ideal version of migration. And I think with the way India is moving—with economic growth, with its private sector becoming really global—that's a fantastic them work for Siemens in Germany for five years. Maybe they get hired by Siemens in India then, and they come back to India. Basically, people want to go home at a certain a choice. It's difficult to say, 'I'm going to stay in Germany or France or the US forever,' when your own country offers you a very good opportunity. And I think in the years to come, we will see more opportunities on the Indian market for those who have been working is the story behind 90,000 jobs? Answer:It's a misunderstanding, it's a misunderstanding because I said it's a number. We do about 20–25,000 skilled labour visas a year, which is fine but not enough. We would be able to do more and would be willing to do more if needs arise and opportunities are one journalist asked me a year ago whether we had a ceiling for these visas. And I said, 'I'm not giving you any numbers. I won't give you a ceiling. You won't hear numbers like 90,000 from me.'And she wrote: 90, I want to switch to the India-Pakistan conflict—the confrontation that took place last month. We saw the new age warfare of drones and missiles play out in the region. The fact that you're sitting in Europe, you've seen the Ukrainian assault—does Germany have capabilities in that sector, in air defence systems and drone warfare?Answer:Yes. The answer is yes, and I think we are talking to the Indian government on to the Indian government on cooperation on that front—air defence systems?Answer:And other things, yes. We are an old partner when it comes to arms and defence with the Indian government, and we continue to be does it encompass the future trajectory of the cooperation—defence cooperation? What are we talking about regarding the future of the India-Germany defence partnership?Answer:Let me tell you, the German government has decided—both the previous government and the current one—that India is a strategic partner of Germany. There are very good reasons to support India when it comes to building up its armed forces in a way that they are to be taken seriously and can really do their job. For many reasons in the Pacific and with the neighbour and so forth, we are of the opinion that if you want the Indians to buy less Russian equipment, you have to offer something. Therefore, the German government has decided to be very forthcoming when it comes to arms I have to say that the Indians are also a very interesting arms producer for us. Ammunition, for example. So I think we'll see more cooperation on this in the coming months and years. The most interesting case, of course, is the submarine case, where we still wait for a decision from the Indian government. But we do hope that the German company TKMS and others like Mittal will get this order. India has very decent defence production. We can also use not worried, Ambassador, that the current Operation Sindoor standoff is going to change priorities when it comes to acquiring submarines?Answer:This is for the Indian government to decide, and I'm not privy to the developments after Sindoor. We'll see. But it's for the Western it's a government-to-government deal?Answer:It's a private deal—it's a private company—but we are ready to support this deal at a government-to-government level. Some areas of supporting cooperation are not in detail yet, but that will come once the decision has been we wrap up this lovely conversation—just about the Pahalgam terror attack because Shubhajit mentioned it—we've seen a few countries that have really sided with Pakistan. Most of the world has spoken about de-escalation, condemning the terror attack, but not really talking about terrorism that emanates from Pakistan or how to deal with that. Are they going to stand with India on that front? What is Germany's view on the terrorism India faces?Answer:The Pahalgam attack is one of the worst attacks I've seen in recent years. It's heartbreaking to go into the details. I find it cynical and terrible. If that is not an act of terrorism, I don't know what is. I've been in Kashmir. I've seen its development. It was a difficult part of India for a long time, but you see prosperity growing, tourism coming up. It's such a lovely part of this country. It's really heartbreaking to have to fight against every form of terrorism. We can't tolerate terrorism being accepted or even bred in some areas. I'm very firm in saying that everything we can do in working together with India on this should be undertaken. You've seen that my country was very quick in SIU operation has one element which, when I tell people back in Europe, stands out—it was an operation of four days. That, as such, I find rather mature. Look at what else we are facing internationally. I have the greatest respect for a country with such outrage and a constituency here in India that was genuinely upset—for good reasons. That you can lead such an operation so surgically and precisely, and stop it after four days, is remarkable. Look at what the Russians are doing, what the Israelis are doing. That's something the world can learn mentioned operations and sentiments of outrage—especially after the terror incident. How do you see some of the anti-India separatist elements using German territory, misusing civil liberties available in Germany?Answer:You have to put it in perspective. This is not the biggest secessionist group in Germany. We have 300,000 Indians in Germany, and unlike other Western countries, they are very diverse. We have people from Tamil Nadu, Bengal—it's not an exclusively or strongly Punjabi community. The voices of this somewhat outdated and strange movement, which nobody really understands, are very few in a question of freedom of speech. It's also a question of working with a strategic partner like India. We have to weigh our options in every single case. Other close friends of ours have much bigger problems with always spoken very strongly about Israeli actions in Gaza. Why is Germany not part of the joint statement issued by the UK, France, and Canada?Answer:You may have seen that our Chancellor has expressed himself in the most concerned way about what's happening in Gaza. The German government is now reflecting on stopping arms deliveries to there does seem to be—especially for the Global South—this idea that when it comes to Europe's war in Ukraine, civilian deaths count for a lot more. In Gaza, the scale of loss of life is so much greater, and violations of UN norms are so much more visible. Yet we haven't seen Germany call for sanctions or take any steps comparable to those against have to understand that our relationship with the state of Israel is a very special one. Given our history, we will not be at the forefront of those who act very harshly toward Israel. We carry a historical burden on our shoulders that's unique. No other country has this kind of relationship. Therefore, what we've heard in the last two weeks on this matter is a game changer for Watch
