Viral photo: Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif gifts Asim Munir a fake image of 'Operation Bunyan' against India

NEW DELHI: In what can only be described as a bizarre mashup of fantasy and farce, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif gifted a framed photograph to Army chief and newly-appointed field marshal Gen. Asim Munir to commemorate "Operation Bunyan-ul-Marsoos". The only catch? The image is not from any Pakistani battlefield. It’s a 2019 Chinese rocket artillery drill.In a gesture that may go down as a new low in military cosplay, the Pakistani leadership chose a stock image of Chinese rocket systems, publicly available on multiple defence websites, and passed it off as a symbol of their military prowess.While India executed Operation Sindoor, a high-precision, retaliatory military operation in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack, Pakistan appears to have responded with a JPEG!"Pakistan just hit a new low in military cosplay. PM Shehbaz Sharif gifts Gen. Asim Munir a Chinese rocket drill photo from 2019, claiming it’s Operation Bunyad-ul-Marsus. When your “victories” need stock images from Beijing: it’s not strategy, it’s national embarrassment," wrote a BJP leader, BL Sreenivas Solanky, on X.Another user wrote: "Pakistan's PM Shehbaz Sharif presented Army Chief Asim Munir with a framed photo of a 2019 Chinese military exercise, portraying it as Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos against India in 2025".India’s Operation Sindoor, launched just past midnight on May 7, marked its most assertive military response yet to cross-border terrorism. Triggered by the Pahalgam massacre - where tourists were targeted in a brutal execution-style killing - the Indian military executed coordinated strikes deep inside Pakistan, hitting high-value terrorist infrastructure.The response was swift, multi-domain, and precise. India used stand-off weapons, including air-launched cruise missiles, loitering munitions, and long-range drones, to hit nine locations across Pakistan - including Muridke and Bahawalpur, the symbolic and operational hubs of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.Unlike earlier military responses such as the 2016 Uri surgical strikes or the 2019 Balakot airstrike, Operation Sindoor wasn’t about symbolism or deterrent threats. It was about imposing direct, material costs - degrading terrorist capabilities and forcing Pakistan’s military-terrorist nexus to rethink its operational latitude.Operation Sindoor didn’t just demolish infrastructure - it pierced the sense of impunity long enjoyed by Pakistan-based terror groups. By launching precise, visible strikes on their most symbolic sanctuaries, India has forced Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and others into a psychological recalibration.The message was clear: no place is beyond India’s reach. As War on the Rocks notes, these groups will now have to constantly watch their backs, draining energy, focus, and resources that were once singularly aimed at India. Terrorist leaders now operate under constant fear of targeted Indian strikes, forcing them to adopt a survival-first mindset that undermines their ability to plan large-scale attacks.