Old Image Of Shahbaz Sharif And Asim Munir Going Viral Linking To Operation Sindoor.

Operation Sindoor killed many terrorists in Pakistan. Against this backdrop, an image went viral on social media where Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir can be seen carrying a coffin. Sharing the image, users claimed that Shahbaz Sharif and Asim Munir were attending the funeral of the terrorists killed in Operation Sindoor.

Instagram Link | Archived Link.

However, as we investigated, we came to know that the claim was misleading. The image is old and unrelated to Operation Sindoor. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

We started our investigation by conducting a reverse image search. This led us to a report published on 26 November 2024 with the headline, “PM, COAS attend funeral prayers of Rangers personnel”. The report contained an image similar to the viral one. 

The report read, “The funeral prayers of three Rangers personnel martyred in the line of duty on the Srinagar Highway last night have been offered at Chaklala Garrison, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

The Rangers personnel lost their lives in alleged attacks carried out by protesters from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on law enforcement agencies while they were making their way into Islamabad Capital Territory.

During the clashes, three Rangers personnel, one official from the Frontier Corps (FC), and a civilian were martyred, while five others, including Rangers and police officials, were seriously injured after PTI protesters rammed a vehicle into them on the Srinagar Highway, according to security sources. According to ISPR, funeral prayers were offered for Naik Muhammad Ramzan Shaheed, aged 47 and a resident of District Karak, Sepoy Gulfam Khan Shaheed, aged 29 and a resident of District Rawalpindi, and Sepoy Shah Nawaz Shaheed, aged 33 and a resident of Sibi district.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Atta Tarar, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, and senior serving military and civilian officials attended the funeral.

On the occasion, the Prime Minister said, “Pakistan cannot afford any chaos or bloodshed to achieve vested political purposes. These acts of violence are unacceptable and highly condemnable, bordering on the limits of restraint by the Law Enforcement Agencies. The entire nation pays homage to the martyred Rangers soldiers, all those police officials who have embraced shahadat, and those who were injured during these riots.”

According to ISPR, the bodies of the martyred personnel have been taken to their respective hometowns, where they will be laid to rest with full military honours.

The caravan and convoys of PTI protesters coming from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa entered the vicinity of Islamabad on Monday night to press for their demands, which include, but are not limited to, the release of former prime minister Imran Khan.

To keep the protesters at bay, the federal government deployed over 20,000 police officers, Rangers, and FC personnel. Several cities were completely or partially sealed off, including Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad.

The protesters finally reached D-Chowk in Islamabad on Tuesday after braving hurdles and obstacles for almost three days, but security forces pushed them back to China Chowk, Jinnah Avenue, and Islamabad Highway.

Currently, life in the federal capital has come to a complete standstill, as clashes between the protesters and security forces continue after brief pauses.”

We found the same image on another report published on 26 November 2024. 

Archived Link

According to the report, at least four personnel of the Rangers died while five others and police personnel sustained serious injuries when miscreants rammed a vehicle into them on the Srinagar Highway on 26 November 2024. The image showed Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, along with Asim Munir, offering the funeral prayer of the Rangers who died on 26 November 2024.

Another similar report can be read here.

This makes it clear that the image is old and unrelated to Operation Sindoor.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the claim is misleading. The image doesn’t show Shahbaz Sharif and Asim Munir attending the funeral of the terrorists who died in Operation Sindoor. The image is old, which shows Shahbaz Sharif and Asim Munir attending the funeral of the Rangers who died on 26 November 2024.