Despite heightened border tensions after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, India and Pakistan faced off in the Asia Cup on September 14, where India triumphed with a commanding seven-wicket win.
However, many social media users sought to boycott the match.
In the above context, an image of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shaking hands with Pakistani cricketers in a stadium has gone viral on social media.
The image is shared with a caption claiming that the image is of a cricket match that was held soon after the 26/11 attack. On November 26, 2008, Mumbai faced coordinated terror attacks by Pakistani militants, killing over 170 people and injuring hundreds, marking one of India’s deadliest assaults on civilians.
A social media user shared the image with a caption that reads, “The Pakistan cricket team arrived in India shortly after the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was present to welcome the Pakistan cricket team. Sharad Pawar is also seen with him. And they opposed the Ind-Pak match at Dubai.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The photo was taken at Mohali on March 30, 2011, prior to the India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final, when Pak PM Yousuf Raza Gilani and PM Manmohan Singh met with the Pakistani team.
On a Google reverse image search, we found the same image was shared by Wikimedia with a caption that reads, “The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr Yousuf Raza Gilani interacting with the Pakistani Cricket Team at the Indo-Pak World Cup semi-final, at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium, in Mohali on March 30, 2011.”
The image is also archived on the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) website, dated March 30, 2011.
Using the hints, we searched with relevant keywords and found a report published by Al Jazeera on March 30, 2011. According to the report, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani to join him at the India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final in Mohali. The event was part of ‘cricket diplomacy’ aimed at reviving bilateral dialogue after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The match drew enormous attention and served as a gesture of peace.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is shared with misleading claims.