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Fact Check: President Zardari didn’t say the military leadership was hiding in bunkers during India’s attack
Several Indian-based and anti-Pakistan social media accounts claimed that President Asif Ali Zardari has admitted that the military leadership moved to bunkers during the war with India earlier this year.
In May 2025, Indian conducted air strikes on Pakistan without provocation in response to the Pahalagam terror attack in occupied Kashmir codenamed Operation Sindoor. Pakistan gave a befitting reply as both countries were engaged in a seven-day war before reaching a US-brokered ceasefire.
On December 27, 2025, President Zardari addressed a political gathering to commemorate the 18th death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto in Garhi Khuda Bux.
Social media users shared clips from his speech to mislead the public with false claims that the military leadership was hiding in bunkers during the war.
An X user, Mir Yar Baloch, who regularly posts content against Pakistan, posted a video of President Zardari claiming the president “admitted in a public gathering that his military was hiding in the bunkers and advised him to hide inside the bunkers.”
The post has been viewed at least 106,000 times. It was reshared and the video was posted by several Indian-based social media propaganda accounts as seen here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Fact Check
Fact Check Pakistan determines the claim is misleading and the president’s statement has been taken out of context.
The video says, “My MS (military secretary) is right here. He came to me and said, Sir, the war has begun. I had told him four days ago that the war was about to begin.
“But he came to me and said, Sir, let’s go to the bunker. I said, if you want to be martyred, you’ll have to come here. Leaders don’t die in bunkers. They die in the battlefield. They don’t die sitting in bunkers. So think that all of us are ready.”
This was also reported by the local Pakistani media in its coverage of the death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto.
A news article in Geo News says, “He (President Zardari) recalled being advised by his military secretary to move to a bunker after the outbreak of war. “I told him we fight and die in the open — we are ready,” Zardari said.
Conclusion
The president made the assertion that he was advised to go inside the bunker after the Indian attack, not the military leadership.
Thus, the claims that the military leadership was “hiding” in bunkers during the war with India are false. These assertions are part of a wider disinformation campaign and aims to malign the armed forces of Pakistan.
