The video is from March 26, showing clashes outside the US consulate following the assassination of Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei.
Since Monday, several pro-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and anti-state accounts on social media platform However, the footage comes from Karachi, where police clashed with protesters near the US consulate in March.
Four police officers were killed and at least two protesters died in violent clashes outside the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalakot on Sunday, after police reacted against supporters of the banned Awami Joint Action Committee (JAAC). The unrest was sparked by the death of a trader who was allegedly shot dead during a clash with law enforcement on Saturday, with protesters demanding the JAAC ban be withdrawn.
The unrest in the territory continues amid an internet and communications outage, due to which there are numerous unsubstantiated reports of exchanges of gunfire between protesters and security forces, resulting in deaths and injuries.
How it started
On Monday, a user who appears to be pro-PTI, based on his past posts, uploaded a video showing a clash between police and protesters. The caption read: “In Rawalakot, police fired directly at protesters. As you can clearly see in the video, police thugs are beating a Kashmiri man with batons.”
The post has racked up 69,000 views.
A second pro-PTI account, based on their past posts, shared the same video on Monday, with a caption claiming (translated from Urdu): “The number of martyrs in Rawalakot has exceeded 200, including children, elderly and youth. »
The post has been viewed 44,000 times.
An anti-state account posted the same video on Monday, with the caption: “The Republic of Balochistan condemns in the strongest possible terms the direct firing and killing of unarmed Kashmiri protesters in Rawalakot and other areas of PoK by the invading forces of Pakistan. »
It has received over 19,000 views.
Another pro-PTI user, based on his earlier posts, shared the same video on Monday with the caption: “Police opened fire directly on unarmed civilians in Rawalakot. »
The post has been viewed more than 7,000 times.
An »
The post garnered 4,294 views
An anti-state account posted the same video on Monday with the caption: “Violent clashes between security forces and JAAC protesters resulting in many casualties. »
This post received 4,000 views.
The video was then shared by several other accounts, as can be seen here, here, here and here.
Methodology
A fact check was launched to determine the veracity of this claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the unrest in AJK.
It was observed that some comments indicated that the video was not from AJK but from an old video from Karachi.
A reverse image search yielded a YouTube videodated March 3, posted online by Samar Abbas, identified in his profile as the head of the Karachi office for Public News.
The video, titled ‘After attack on US consulate in Karachi, SSP Keamari Amjad Sheikh and his officers expelled for negligence’, contains the same footage in higher resolution. A road sign clearly visible in the clip reads “Karachi Port”, “Kemari” and “Shershah”, confirming the location as Moulvi Tamizuddin Khan Road (MT Khan Road), Karachi.
A keyword search was then carried out for news stories from around the same date and resulted in a March 1 article published by an English media outlet. Dawn.
The report documents violent clashes between protesters and law enforcement outside the US consulate in Karachi following the assassination of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to the report, protesters attempted to storm the consulate, forcing security forces to fire tear gas in an attempt to disperse them.
Fact Check Status: False
The claim that a viral video shows security forces shooting at protesters in AJK’s Rawalakot is false. FAKE.
The video is old and shows clashes between police and protesters in Karachi in March after Khamenei’s assassination.
This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan – a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.
