A ceasefire, a meltdown in Indian newsrooms

KARACHI: Saturday evening’s surprise ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan was met with a predictable media storm across Indian television news channels, where facts were sidelined in favour of nationalist bombast, dubious claims and bizarre interpretations -- particularly aimed at downplaying the role of US President Donald Trump, who had announced the development on his TruthSocial account.

At Republic TV, melodramatic anchor Arnab Goswami erupted with his trademark rage, responding to Trump’s announcement with theatrical disdain. Labeling the US president’s post “inappropriate, unnecessary”, Goswami yelled that Trump had “as usual” tried to make it seem he was the peacemaker, adding that Trump “wanted to take credit” for the ceasefire. Goswami insisted, “It was not Donald Trump Pakistan came begging to for a ceasefire.”

Without missing a beat, Goswami the launched into an unverified and fiery monologue claiming that the ceasefire was solely due to India’s military might. “We all know it was Operation Sindoor which was a success and for that we must be grateful to our army, navy and air force. We don’t need an American president to come and say I brought peace’; you didn’t, Donald Trump.”Yet even as he thundered about Indian supremacy, Goswami appeared visibly flustered some time later on air when a colleague reported that China had reiterated its support for Pakistan. In an unusual moment, the anchor mumbled, stumbled and fumbled his way through a confused sentence before regaining composure.

Over at India Today, anchors offered their own spin, suggesting that Pakistan had no choice but to agree to a ceasefire because the IMF had released funds to it — conveniently linking the decision to US influence over the IMF. Their headlines continued to flash “War Against Terror”, while a reporter or guest on the show insisted that the call for ceasefire came from the Pakistan DGMO, not India’s.

Sudarshan News, known for its far-right nationalist tone, pushed the envelope even further. Anchor Dr Suresh Chavhanke hosted a panel where one guest claimed India had already “destroyed terrorist camps and all air defence systems in Pakistan”. Viewers were treated to cartoon visuals showing Pakistan on its knees begging the US for help. Another guest, Vandana, an NRI from the US, rejected the ceasefire as a betrayal of the “Hindu community worldwide”. “We had kept faith and trusted....Learn from Israel. Learn from Russia. India should never have agreed to this ceasefire. Who is Donald Trump? Operation Sindoor, we ourselves abandoned it”, she said. News18 was no less charged. A shouting Rubika Liyaquat challenged her guests to explain why Trump had even spoken about intervening when India “prefers only bilateral talks with Pakistan”. She questioned whether Trump’s TruthSocial post had been “exaggerated”.

Meanwhile, another News18 India anchor went a step further, first announcing the ceasefire and then claiming -- without any evidence — that “100-150 terrorists had been exterminated” and that India had destroyed Pakistan’s air bases and air defence systems “before the ceasefire”. Keeping with the general line taken by Indian TV, Zee News too painted the ceasefire as an Indian victory and a Pakistani capitulation, referring to it as a “surrender”. The channel alleged — of course without evidence — that Pakistan had pleaded with India for peace after its infrastructure was devastated by Indian attacks. The host insisted Pakistan had gone to the US for help, contradicting a CNN report suggesting that it was in fact India that had approached Washington.