Fact Check: Right Wing Portal Claims Nidhi Razdan Attended Pakistan-Sponsored Event, Did She?

Journalists have always been targetted for their opinions on controversial issues such as religion and control over territory, and have been extensively trolled and bullied on social media. NDTV Journalist Nidhi Razdan has recently fallen victim to right-wing trolls after attending a talk at London’s Chatham House held by CTD Advisors, a strategy think tank, where she was one of the guests and panellists. The talk, which took place on November 7 was a discussion on India’s move on scrapping Article 370, which grants special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, a controversial move which received mixed reactions from all around the country and the world. The event was attended by Indian, Pakistani and British Experts. Sir Mark Lyall Grant, former security advisor to British Prime Ministers Theresa May and David Cameron, and Maleeha Lodhi, former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United Nations were also there as panellists.

According to a tweet given out by Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, a journalist, defence expert and a verified Twitter user, the event which Razdan attended was sponsored by the Pakistan Army.

2n Nidhi … a person who has never been accused of either perspicacity or intellect …. attended a Bajwa & Pak army sponsored event in London & was acknowledged by the JKLF as a genuine Kashmiri voice. Lesson? Never attribute to malice what you can to stupidity pic.twitter.com/BF0HvspB11

— Abhijit Iyer-Mitra (@Iyervval) November 11, 2019

This tweet has got 370 likes and 251 retweets.

OpIndia, a right-wing content website also carried out an article on the same with the headline that Nidhi Razdan attended a Pakistan sponsored event, maligning the journalist’s reputation by accusing her of toeing to Pakistan’s sentiments. The headline was later changed.

NDTV’s Nidhi Razdan attends UK ‘Kashmir’ event organised by Pakistan establishment, slams India’s democracy, gets endorsed by JKLFhttps://t.co/ndj6Wov54W

— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) November 11, 2019

Many other Twitter users tweeted on the issue, attacking Razdan. BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje who represents the Udupi-Chikmagalur seat in South Karnataka was also one of them.

Undermining India's interest, bringing bad name for country in global platform hv bcme d regular job of many so called journalists!

Nidhi Razdan attends UK ‘Kashmir’ event organised by Pakistan establishment, slams India’s democracy, gets endorsed by JKLF https://t.co/olQWfi6Tdm

— Shobha Karandlaje (@ShobhaBJP) November 11, 2019

So ⁦⁦@Nidhi⁩ of ⁦@ndtv⁩ attended an event in London organised by “initiative of Bajwa Sahab”. Congratulations to NDTV and ⁦@PrannoyRoyNDTV⁩ https://t.co/lcIrEaBAIo

— Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale (@vijai63) November 11, 2019

NDTV’s Nidhi Razdan attends UK ‘Kashmir’ event organised by Pakistan establishment, slams India’s democracy, gets endorsed by JKLF https://t.co/ZW9oW3Iogy

— Nupur J Sharma (@UnSubtleDesi) November 11, 2019

Fact Check

Razdan, in a series of tweets, had hit out on the trolls who had shared the article and the tweet accusing her of going against the interests of the country. She tweeted:

For the record, thread of what I said at London event, attended by Indian High Commission,NRIs:
1) Having failed to take Kashmir through war, Pakistan stoked an insurgency in Kashmir in the late 1980’s. It set up terrorist training camps in Kashmir’s territory under its control.

— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) November 11, 2019

2) Kashmiri Pandits were killed as part of a drive for the Islamisation of Jammu and Kashmir. Nearly the entire population of kashmiri pandits were forced out of the Valley. That included my grandparents and other relatives.

— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) November 11, 2019

3) Kashmiris are still to come to terms with the tectonic changes. One hopes that political leadership is set free,democracy is restored and that full statehood is granted again as promised by PM Modi. One also hopes that Pakistan stops exporting terror to Kashmir.

— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) November 11, 2019

I countered Pakistani lies and propaganda strongly in the presence of many media persons. These trolls who think they can browbeat and bully me with their lies don’t know me. I won’t be bullied

— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) November 11, 2019

Right wing rag lies.I spoke strongly against Pak sponsored terrorism in Kashmir, also said India must lift all restrictions.I countered Pakistani lies that 8 million people are being held hostage,that hospitals are graveyards.OpIndia believes Pakistani spin,says more about them https://t.co/muhkWV4Dm3

— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) November 11, 2019

According to an India Today report, Razdan had hit out at Pakistan for creating insurgency in the region. She quoted, “That Pakistan is a breeding ground for terrorists is acknowledged by none other than its Prime Minister, Imran Khan, who candidly said during a visit to the United States in July this year that there were 40 different militant groups operating within Pakistan. Therefore, serious concerns remain in India concerning terror groups operating from Pakistan.” Razdan had also added that since 1948, Pakistan had created insurgency in the region to grab Kashmir, which has led to cross border terrorism and thus, leading to misery in the region. This further verifies her claim, that she spoke on both sides.

The Logical Indian also found out that the name ‘Bajwa’ mentioned in Iyer-Mitra’s tweet was Shoaib K. Bajwa, the director of CTD Advisors and not Qamar Javed Bajwa, the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army. The event was attended by Indian High Commission officials and NRIs.

Conclusion:

The talk which took place was just a discussion on the scrapping of Article 370 and the role India and Pakistan are playing, which has been painted with a false angle by right-wing trolls and websites. Although a former diplomat from Pakistan was present, there was no endorsement from any government body or any defence organisation.

Also Read: Hindi Touted To Be New Official Language Of J&K, Kashmiris Call It Imposition