Old Unrelated Images Shared Linking To The Recent Pakistani Drone Activity Over The LoC.

Recently, reports stated that multiple Pakistani drone intrusion attempts along the Line of Control (LoC) were observed on March 1, 2026. Against this backdrop, a few photos went viral on social media linking them to the incident. Sharing the images, a user wrote, “Army personnel fired at a Pakistani drone that crossed into Indian territory from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district early Sunday morning, officials said. The unmanned aerial vehicle was spotted around 6:10 am hovering over the Digwar area, prompting troops at a forward post to open fire and discharge more than a dozen rounds in an attempt to bring it down. However, the drone managed to evade the gunfire and retreated back towards Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Authorities subsequently launched a search operation in the area to ensure that no weapons or narcotics had been airdropped. This marks the second such incident in three days, with troops having similarly engaged a Pakistani drone in the same sector on February 27.”

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However, upon investigation, we discovered that the claim was misleading. The images are old and unrelated to the recent drone activities in the LoC. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

The viral post contains three different images. We started our investigation by conducting a reverse image search.

First and Second Images

The first and second images show several army men near the burnt debris, which seemed to be of an aircraft. A reverse image search led us to a report published on The New Yorker on February 28, 2019, that contained an image similar to the second viral image. According to the report, it shows the wreckage of the Indian planes shot down by the Pakistani military.

We conducted a relevant keyword search and found a report on the YouTube channel of Fox News on February 28, 2019. The clips in the report matched the first two images of the viral post. The report was about the 2019 Balakot airstrike and the capture of the Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman by the Pakistani forces.

Other similar reports can be seen here, here and here.

This makes it clear that the first and second images are old.

Third Image 

The third image shows a drone.

A reverse image search of the third Image led us to a report published in DNA India on July 6, 2020, that contained the third image. 

The report read, “One more attempt by Pakistani agencies to drop weapons across the international border using drones has been foiled by the Border Security Force (BSF) at Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir. Upon conducting a thorough search of the payload on the Pakistani drone, arms and ammunition have been recovered. A security official said, “One US-made M4 rifle, two magazines, 60 rounds of ammunition, and seven grenades have been recovered. Primary investigation suggests that this delivery was being made for one ‘Ali Bhai’ as the payload was carrying his name.” The official added, “ The drone is eight-feet wide blade-to-blade and seems to have been controlled by the Pakistani picket opposite the Panesar Post of the BSF on this side of the Kathua sector”…

Please read here.

Taking this clue, we conducted a relevant keyword search. This led us to a report on the YouTube channel of India Today. The video report stated that a Pakistani spy drone was shot down by the BSF in the Hiranagar sector of Kathua district. The report contained clips similar to the viral image.

Another report can be seen here.

This makes it clear that the image is old.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the claim is misleading. The viral images are old and unrelated to the recent incident of Pakistani drone activity over the LoC. The first two images are from 2019 and the third Image is from 2020.