At least 26 people lost their lives in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Anantnag district of Kashmir on April 22. According to survivors’ accounts, the terrorists asked tourists enjoying their time in Baisaran Valley about their religion before shooting them. The Resistance Front (TRF), an outfit linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, initially claimed responsibility for the attack, but later denied it. Jammu and Kashmir Police released sketches of the terrorists based on the description of the survivors and revealed the perpetrators included Ali alias Talha (Pakistani national), Asif Fauji (Pakistani national), Adil Hussain Thokkar (resident of Anantnag) and Ahsan (resident of Pulwama). In response to this terrorist incident, India suspended the Indus Water Treaty and canceled the visas of Pakistani citizens with immediate effect.
Since then, several Pakistani X handles and media houses are claiming that Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar has been detained because he publicly blamed the Indian government for the Pahalgam terror incident.
Pakistani journalist Maleeha Hashme posted a report from a Pakistani news channel claiming that Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar had been sacked and summoned to Delhi. Sharing this news, Maleeha claimed that the Indian Army officer had accepted responsibility for the Pahalgam incident and was subsequently sacked. (Archive link)
An X user named ‘Pakistan Strategic Prism’ also tweeted that Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar had been detained for violating military protocol because he blamed the Indian government for the Pahalgam attack. (Archive link)
A user named Taimur Malik tweeted that the Modi government sacked and detained India’s Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar because he had refused to attack Pakistan after the Pahalgam incident. Lieutenant General Prateek Sharma will be appointed in his place on May 1, this user claimed. (Archive link)
Pakistani media outlets Times of Karachi, Dunya News, Geo News Urdu and other Pakistani social media users also made similar claims.
Fact Check
When we searched for keywords related to Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar, we found a report from Indian news agency United News of India dated April 20, 2025. This report clearly states that Lieutenant General Suchindra Kumar is retiring on April 30 and Lieutenant General Prateek Sharma would take over as the new Commander of the Northern Command headquartered in Udhampur.
It is clear from this that the news that Lieutenant General Suchindra Kumar is retiring at his pre-determined time was published even before the terrorist incident in Pahalgam on 22 April. Therefore, his retirement has no connection with the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
The fact-check unit of the Union government, too, denied the news of the detention of Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar amplified by Pakistani users and media, and said that Lieutenant General Kumar was to retire on April 30. Lieutenant General Prateek Sharma would succeed him.
Several pro-Pakistan social media accounts falsely claim that Northern Commander Lt Gen Suchindra Kumar has been removed from his post after the Pahalgam incident#PIBFactCheck
❌ The claims being made in these posts are #fake
✅ Lt. Gen MV Suchindra Kumar is attaining… pic.twitter.com/MogYJABl1Z
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) April 30, 2025
To sum up, several Pakistani media outlets and social media users falsely claimed that Lt. Gen M V Suchindra Kumar had publicly blamed the Indian government for the Pahalgam terror incident and was sacked and/or detained.
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