Journalism or TikTok video? Republic TV's Indo-Pak 'prop war' amid LIVE debate leaves Twitterati in splits

Republic TV’s Hindi news channel R. Bharat has become a trending topic on social media, courtesy its latest prime time debate. The channel’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami invited a panel to represent India and Pakistan to discuss the Pulwama-like tragedy that was averted in Kashmir on Thursday.

However, things took a dramatic turn when Maninderjeet Singh Bitta, chairman of the All-India Anti-Terrorist Front and Engineer Iftikhar Chaudhry, Deputy Secretary Information, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) locked horns amid the virtual debate.

The duo engaged in a ‘prop war’ which reminded social media of the bows and arrows used in mythological shows from the 80s. Some went on to call it as the “lowest level of journalism on national TV”, while others christened it as a new version of “Cartoon Network” and "TikTok".

Here are some reactions on the clip from R. Bharat that went viral on Twitter.

A major terror plot was foiled in Jammu and Kashmir after the security forces found an explosives-laden car in South Kashmir's Pulwama district. The car was said to be placed at a strategic location to target a security forces' convoy or a defence installation.

The explosive was kept in a blue drum inside the car. A bomb disposal squad reached the spot on Thursday morning. People were asked to move away from the vicinity. The bomb disposal squad then instead of defusing the explosive, exploded the vehicle.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police tweeted: "A major incident of a vehicle-borne IED blast is averted by the timely input and action by Pulwama Police, CRPF and the Army."

As per reports, late on Wednesday night, a car was intercepted by the security forces from Rajpora in South Kashmir's Pulwama district. The police had a specific input about a car, which was tracked to Shaadipura, (Rajpura road) in Pulwama.

However, the driver, who is said to be a Hizbul Mujahideen militant, managed to escape unde the cover of darkness after initial firefight.

The investigation so far has revealed that the white colour car had a registration of a two-wheeler, which was registered in the name of a resident from Jammu's Kathua district.

In February 2019, 40 CRPF soldiers were killed when an IED-laden car driven by Adil Ahmed Dar, a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist, exploded. Later in April last year, a similar failed attempt was made in Banihal in which Hizbul terror module was said to be involved. Both cases of terror conspiracy are being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

With inputs from IANS