A spokesman for the Pakistani government in Kashmir said there were no reports of cell towers destroyed during protests that rocked the region in May 2024, contrary to reports on Facebook and X that claimed to show photos of the damaged buildings. The images – taken before the protests – show telephone towers attacked in 2022 and 2023.
“Kashmiris are now tearing down mobile phone towers,” read a post on social media platform X that shared the photos on May 12, 2024.
“Kashmiris say if we can’t get internet in this difficult time, we don’t even need these poles from you.”
The photos show a collapsed telephone tower and a charred structure with a hole in the roof.
Four people were killed in Pakistani-administered Kashmir – a semi-autonomous region with its own regional government – after paramilitary forces clashed with protesters rallying against the rising cost of living.
The internet was largely shut down during the demonstrations, which ended on May 14 after organizers accepted a government offer of financial aid.
The Himalayan region is divided between India and Pakistan, both of which have full claim to it.
The photos were shared widely on X here, here and here and on Facebook here, here and here in posts linking them to the protests.
However, Abdul Majid Khan, finance minister and spokesman for the Pakistani government in Kashmir, told AFP on May 24 that there were no reports of cell towers destroyed during demonstrations in the region that month.
In reality, the photos show the aftermath of insurgent attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
Balochistan uprising
A reverse image search on Google found the photo of a collapsed telephone tower in an article by Pakistani newspaper Daily Quetta Voice on June 4, 2022 (archived link).
According to the report, “unknown miscreants” planted an improvised explosive device that blew up the tower in Balochistan’s Bolan district.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but poorest province, is also home to several militant groups fighting for independence or a greater share of the region’s mineral resources (archived link).
The insurgents regularly attack infrastructure such as railway lines, power lines and telephone masts.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in Fake Messages (left) and the photo from Daily Quetta Voice (right):
The newspaper attributed the photo to Yousaf Marri, who confirmed to AFP that he took the photo in Balochistan’s Barkhan district.
A reverse image search found the photo of a charred structure with a hole in the roof in an article about an attack on another telephone tower in Balochistan (archived link).
Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI) published the photo on April 19, 2023, in a report on a series of attacks on mobile phone towers in Balochistan’s Kech district.
The photo has been credited to ANI.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in fake messages (left) and the photo from ANI (right):
The article also contains Yousaf Marri’s photo, but does not include image credit.
ANI reported that Baloch insurgents targeted towers owned by Chinese telecommunications companies that they suspected were spying on them.
Beijing has poured billions of dollars into Pakistan to strengthen the country’s infrastructure under the Belt and Road Initiative.
But Chinese-funded projects have sparked resentment, especially among separatist groups, who say locals see little benefit because most jobs go to outsiders.
AFP previously fact-checked disinformation following the unrest here and here.
