Viral video of cross-border shelling between Pakistan and India in AJK’s Leepa Valley

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search to trace the original video.

Posts from multiple pro-Indian and pro-Afghan users on social media platform X on October 27, 2025, shared a video, claiming to show recent cross-border shelling between Pakistan and India in Leepa Valley at the Line of Control (LoC). However, the video is old and was previously shared in May 2025 during the Pakistan–India standoff.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated sharply in early May 2025 after an attack in Indian-occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam prompted New Delhi to launch “Operation Sindoor” on May 7, targeting sites inside Pakistan and causing civilian casualties. Pakistan later launched a retaliatory “Operation Bunyanum Marsoos”, leading to heavy artillery and drone exchanges before a United States-led push helped broker a ceasefire.

On the night of Oct 27, Indian forces apparently violated the cea­sefire in the Leepa Sector of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. While there was no official word on losses, locals reported an intense exchange of fire on Sunday evening.

HOW IT STARTED

On Oct 27, an Indian propaganda account shared a video on X with the following caption: “At least seven Pakistani soldiers killed in overnight clashes in Leepa Valley (PoK) after Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked firing at Indian posts in Tangdhar sector. Indian Army retaliated with 15× intensity, destroying two enemy posts and a supply vehicle. (Sources).”

The post gained over 97,000 views.

Another Indian propaganda account shared the same video with the following caption:
“Pakistani accounts have accidentally exposed their own embarrassment sharing videos showing the Indian Army pounding Pak Army posts in Leepa Valley (PoK) after Pakistan violated the ceasefire near Tangdhar. Artillery fire. Precision strikes.”

The post garnered over 20,000 views.

Journalist Sumair Jamil also shared the video with the following caption: “Pak India LoC firing update. Indian army intermittently firing in the Leepa Valley sector of Azad Kashmir. Pakistan army is responding with full force.”

His post received 1,000 views.

The video was also shared by a pro-military account with the following caption: “Five Indian posts that were firing on the Leepa Valley sector in Kashmir have been blown away. The enemy has raised white flags. Our losses are zero, the enemy will report its own losses. Silence has also prevailed in the Tatta Pani and Haji Pir sectors .”

Several other pro-Indian and pro-Afghan accounts reshared the same footage as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here, gaining over 19,000 views collectively.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and to dispel any confusion about the incident, about which very few details have been released so far.

A keyword search to corroborate whether the footage was from the fresh hostilities did not yield any video report featuring the same footage from Pakistani or Indian media outlets.

A reverse image search of the video’s keyframes showed that the same clip was shared previously on May 9, 2025, by multiple users. No older shares of the video were found from before the May conflict.

Those sharing the video at the time, including Geo News correspondent Murtaza Ali Shah, also said that it was from live firing between Pakistan and India.

While the exact location of the older video along the LoC could not be conclusively determined due to a lack of details, it is clear that it is not from the current outbreak of shelling in Leepa Valley.

On May 9, 2025, heavy fighting erupted along the Pakistan-India border and LoC, with both sides accusing each other of major ceasefire violations. Pakistani media reported civilian casualties in Hajira and Neelum Valley, while India claimed to have intercepted multiple drone incursions from across the border.

Shelling had forced residents to flee border villages, and emergency shelters were opened amid fears of further escalation. International observers warned that the clashes marked the most serious escalation in years between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows cross-border shelling from a recent flare-up in violence between India and Pakistan in the Leepa Valley is false.

The footage is old and was shared previously in the May 2025 conflict between the two countries.

Evidence and References

May 9, 2025, X posts:
https://archive.fo/aAjrS
https://archive.fo/zUUMS
https://archive.fo/QUd2k
https://archive.fo/U4R46