Jerusalem: Israel’s military has issued an apology after posting a map that incorrectly showed Jammu and Kashmir as part of Pakistan, following sharp objections from Indian social media users. The map, shared by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on their official X handle on Friday, aimed to depict the range of Iranian missiles but quickly sparked criticism for its inaccurate borders.
In response to the backlash, the IDF acknowledged the error, stating that the illustration "fails to precisely depict borders" and extended an apology for any offence caused. “This post is an illustration of the region. This map fails to precisely depict borders. We apologize for any offense caused by this image,” the IDF wrote on X.
The controversial post was initially part of a message justifying Israel’s recent military operation against Iran, dubbed Operation Rising Lion. “Iran is a global threat. Israel is not the end goal, it's only the beginning. We had no other choice but to act,” the IDF had posted, along with the disputed map.
The Israeli Air Force also released a short video that featured a similar graphic, further fuelling criticism.
Amid the outrage, Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar weighed in on the issue via X, calling the depiction a “bad unintended” infographic. He added that he had already requested for the map to be removed or corrected.
India has consistently maintained that Jammu and Kashmir, along with Ladakh, is an integral part of the country.
With PTI inputs