Claim: Pictures comprising headshots and a funeral show the soldiers who died in July 2025 during the military operation that targeted terrorists in Bajaur.
Fact: The pictures are old and unrelated to the ongoing operation in Bajaur.
On 30 and 31 July 2025, pictures of apparent deceased members of the Pakistani security forces and their alleged funerals started circulating on social media in connection with the Bajaur operation, which was launched the day before.
The picture posted (archive) on 30 July by Facebook page ‘کیوٹ فوجی’ shows three Frontier Corps personnel named Umar Hayit, Waqar, and a third one whose last name is Khan but first name is illegible. It is captioned as follows:
“بریکینگ نیوز باجوڑ جاری آپریشن ایک میجر اور تین سپاہی ہلاک
[Breaking News: One Major and three soldiers killed in the ongoing operation in Bajaur]”
A second image, shared (archive) by Facebook user ‘Saima Koko’ on 31 July, depicts a funeral procession, allegedly of Pakistani security personnel, with the following caption:
“باجوڑ آپریشن میں آرمی کی گاڑی پر حملہ، 9 سپاہی اور ایک میجر ہلاک مردار ہو گئے
[Attack on an army vehicle during the Bajaur operation, 9 soldiers and a Major killed]”
The third photo shared (archive) by Facebook user ‘Bilal Baig’ — also on 31 July — is accompanied by the following caption:
“وطن سلامت رہیں اِنَّا لِلّٰہِ وَاِنَّآ اِلَیْہِ رَاجِعُوْنَ 💔 دھرتی ماں کے 7 بہادر بیٹے دھرتی ماں پر قربان، اللہ تعالیٰ جنت الفردوس میں اعلیٰ مقام عطا فرمائے آمین اللہ تمام شہداء کی درجات بلند فرمائے اور جملہ لواحقین کو اس صدمے کو صبر اور برداشت کرنے کا حوصلہ عطا فرمائیں آمین 😢💔
[May the country be safe, to God we belong and to Him we return 💔 7 brave sons of mother earth sacrificed themselves for the motherland, may God Almighty grant them a high place in Heaven, amen, may God elevate the ranks of all the martyrs and give all the families the patience and courage to bear this trauma, amen 😢💔]”
Operation Sarbakaf in Bajaur
Pakistani security forces on 12 August resumed Operation Sarbakaf, which was initially launched late July 2025 but put on hold due to a “conditional” ceasefire, deploying army troops and using gunship helicopters and artillery to target militants in Bajaur.
A three-day curfew until the morning of 14 August was imposed by the local administration during the “targeted” operation. A statement from Bajaur’s Deputy Commissioner said Section 144 was in effect during the same time.
Different media reports have cited official sources as saying that about “300 militants” were present in Bajaur.
The same day as the operation commenced, “two security personnel lost their lives” when a military convoy was ambushed “in Inayata Qila Pathak, Bajaur district”, The Khorasan Diary (TKD), a journalist-run real-time information and analysis platform, said. One Frontier Corps (FC) soldier — identified as Ihsanullah — died when “terrorists attacked their vehicle” but not during action, it emerged on 13 August.
On 15 August, TKD reported “11 fatalities from police and the security forces cumulatively” during almost 40 attacks in KP and nine in Balochistan on 14 August 2025.
The Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), the state media outlet, quoted officials as saying over “20,000 families had been migrated from Loi Mamond and Wara Mamond due to the security situation”.
According to a Voicepk.net report, the district administration said more than 6,600 people “are temporarily residing in 85 government and private schools and colleges, while 334 families are staying at the Sports Stadium Camp”.
On the other hand, Awami National Party (ANP) lawmaker Muhammad Nisar Baaz has claimed that approximately “55,000 people have been displaced from different areas of Mamund Tehsil” and “400,000 residents remain trapped by the suddenly imposed curfew”, the publication added.
The Associated Press quoted government administrator Shahhid Ali as saying the number of people who were displaced due to the ongoing operation “had rapidly increased to nearly 100,000”.
According to Dawn, Siraj Uddin Khan Foundation Executive Director Khalid Khan said almost “300 more families fled their homes ahead of the curfew” imposition, with some moving to “shelters set up by his organisation”.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has announced financial aid for impacted families, saying each of them would receive PKR 50,000 in assistance, as per reports by Khyber News and AP.
Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JIP) leader Sahibzada Haroon Rashid — who is also the head of a jirga, an assembly of community elders, in Bajaur — rejected the imposition of a curfew. A number of families had temporarily relocated to peaceful locations.
Operation Sarbakaf resumed after talks between the jirga in Bajaur and leaders of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — a banned group also known as the Pakistani Taliban — in early August fell through following a fragile “conditional” ceasefire.
When it was first launched, reports citing security sources had said, “At least four suspected terrorists were killed, 12 wounded, and around 10 others were captured alive.”
In a 29 July update, TKD cited security sources as saying, “At least 7 Pakistani Taliban affiliates have been killed and 11 critically injured.” It also reported “at least three fatalities from the security forces”. The operation came following an attack on the Thangi checkpost in Bajaur.
Criticism against operation
At that time, the KP government — led by the incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — had opposed the operation. Gul Zafar Khan, a former lawmaker associated with the party, had alleged that it was “being used as an excuse, perhaps to seize our mineral resources”.
ANP President Aimal Wali Khan had also criticised the operation, claiming that innocent people were killed, and called on the violence to stop.
Similarly, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) had stated that it could not extend support, with its spokesperson Aslam Ghauri saying common people were affected and issues “were neither resolved through force in the past nor will they be in the future”.
JIP leader Mushtaq Ahmad, too, had condemned Operation Sarbakaf, saying in a statement that it “was started by bypassing the provincial assembly, federal parliament, local jirgas, and elders”.
According to Voicepk.net, “a 12-year-old boy and a young girl” were among three civilians who were reportedly killed and “12 others were injured”. Residents launched a protest against the military operation, it added.
Escalating violence in Bajaur
Terror attacks in Bajaur “have increased in recent months”, Anadolu Agency reported in July 2025.
There were a total of “215 fatalities, including 37 security personnel, 124 militants, and 54 civilians” in at least “82 militant attacks and dozens of security operations [that] took place across the country in July”, the publication had reported on 6 August 2025, citing data from the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).
On 10 July, ANP leader Maulana Khan Zeb and two others were shot dead. Prior to that, Khar Assistant Commissioner Faisal Ismail was killed on 2 July in a bomb blast.
The “Bajaur Aman Pasoon,” or the Bajaur Peace Rally, on 13 July attracted thousands of people “carrying white flags and white banners inscribed with various slogans in support of peace”. Participants raised concerns about and condemned “lawlessness and targeted killings”.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched the visuals and found all of them to be old and unrelated to Operation Sarbakaf.
For the first image, we found X (formerly Twitter) posts by TKD and the user @PakistanFauj — both from 19 August 2024. The men were identified as Naik Inayat Khan, Lance Naik Umer Hayat, and Sepoy Waqar Khan.
Searching further using relevant keywords, we found a press release by the Pakistani military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations, from the same date. It states, “On [the] night 18/19 August 2024, movement of a group of Khwarij, who were trying to infiltrate [the] Pakistan-Afghanistan border, was picked up by the security forces in Bajaur District. Own (sic) troops effectively engaged and thwarted their attempt to infiltrate. Resultantly, five khwarij of Fitna al Khwarij were sent to hell, while four khwarij got injured.
“However, during intense exchange of fire, three brave sons of soil; Naik Inayat Khan (age: 36 years, resident of District Khyber), Lance Naik Umer Hayat (age: 35 years, resident of District Mansehra) and Sepoy Waqar Khan (age: 25 years, resident of District Peshawar), having fought gallantly, embraced Shahadat,” the press release notes, adding that Pakistan has persistently requested the “Interim Afghan Government to ensure effective border management on their side of the border”.
The same statement was also posted on the Facebook account of the Pakistan Army’s spokesperson.
“Fitna al-Khawarij” is the Pakistani government’s reference to the TTP.
In the second viral picture, three names are clearly visible: Taj Rasool, Malik, and Iqbal. Our search led to a Facebook post from 28 March 2025 that shows a military officer named “Taj Rasool” and the caption, “Taj Rasool shaheed sho Allah pk de janat warki ao mashomano la de Allah pk sabar warki ameen”; this prayer in the caption indicates that the man died.
Using the date — 28 March 2025 — and relevant keywords, we were able to trace all the faces to posts on different social media accounts from the same timeframe.
According to a 29 March 2025 post by Pamir Times, a total of “seven Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred during an anti-terror operation in Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including five who belonged to Gilgit-Baltistan”. They were identified as Havaldar Barkat Ali, Sepoy Anar Ali, Sepoy Muhammad Aamir, Sepoy Malik Abdul Wahab, Havaldar Azhar Khan, Havaldar Taj Rasool, and Sepoy Muhammad Iqbal.
The development was also reported by Chitral Today the same day.
As for the third photo showing a funeral, it appeared in a Business Recorder article from 22 August 2022 with the headline, “9 Pakistan Army soldiers martyred, 4 injured in AJK road accident.” It said the vehicle carrying military personnel “fell into a Nullah in the Shaujabad area of Bagh district in Azad Kashmir”.
Dawn reported that residents “took part in the rescue operation after the truck fell some 500 feet down into the ravine while negotiating a curve”. They said seven soldiers died on the spot, the publication added.
Reuters also reported on the accident.
Additionally, we contacted AFP correspondent Lehaz Ali, who said that according to Bajaur’s local administration, the Pakistani forces have denied any losses during the July 2025 operation against terrorists.
However, reports from TKD and Dawn provide different numbers of fatalities during attacks. Soch Fact Check has not independently confirmed this.
We can confirm that the visuals of soldiers’ dead bodies and their alleged funerals that were shared in the previous social media posts are false.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the claim circulating here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook.
The visuals were also shared here, here, here, here, and here on Instagram and here, here, here, and here on X.
Conclusion: The pictures are old and unrelated to the ongoing Bajaur operation.
Background image in cover photo: Google Maps
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