Multiple pro-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and anti-state accounts on social media platform X were sharing a video since Monday, claiming it shows Pakistani security forces firing directly on unarmed protesters in Rawalakot, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. However, the footage is from Karachi, where police clashed with protesters near the US Consulate in March.

On Sunday, four policemen were killed and at least two protesters died in violent clashes outside the Combined Military Hospital Rawalakot, after police moved against supporters of the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). The unrest was triggered by the death of a trader allegedly shot during a confrontation with law enforcement on Saturday, with protesters demanding the withdrawal of JAAC’s proscription.

The unrest in the territory continues amid an internet and communications blackout, due to which there are numerous unsubstantiated reports of exchange of gunfire between protesters and security forces, leading to deaths and injuries.

How it started

On Monday, a user who appears to be pro-PTI, based on their past posts, posted a video online that shows a clash between policemen and protesters. The caption read: “In Rawalakot, the police have been firing directly at the protesters. As you can clearly see in the video, police thugs are beating a Kashmiri with batons.”

The post accumulated 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 crossed 200, including children, the elderly and the young.”

The post received 44,000 views.

An anti-state account posted the same video on Monday, with the caption: “The Republic of Balochistan condemns the direct firing on and killing of unarmed Kashmiri protesters in Rawalakot and other areas of PoK by the invading forces of Pakistan in strongest possible terms.”

It received more than 19,000 views.

Another pro-PTI user, based on their past posts, shared the same video on Monday with the following caption: “Police have opened fire directly on unarmed civilians in Rawalakot.”

The post received more than 7,000 views.

An X user, claiming to be a journalist from New Delhi, India, also shared the same video with the following caption: “Pakistani forces are firing indiscriminately on civilians in Pak-occupied Kashmir for demanding basic rights and dignity.”

The post gathered 4,294 views

An anti-state account posted the same video on Monday with the caption: “Violent clashes between security forces and protesters from the JAAC resulting in significant casualties.”

That post received 4,000 views.

The video was subsequently shared by several other accounts, as can be seen here, here, here, and here.

Methodology

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the unrest in AJK.

It was observed that some comments noted that the video was not from AJK but an old one from Karachi.

A reverse-image search yielded a YouTube video, dated March 3, uploaded by Samar Abbas, identified in his profile as the Karachi bureau chief for Public News.

The video, titled “After US Consulate Karachi attack, SSP Keamari Amjad Sheikh and officers were removed for negligence,” contains the same footage in higher resolution. A road signboard 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 subsequently conducted for news reports around the same date and yielded a March 1 story published by English media outlet Dawn.

The report documented violent clashes between protesters and law enforcement outside the US Consulate in Karachi following the assassination of former Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As per the article, protesters attempted to storm the consulate, causing 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 firing at protesters in AJK’s Rawalakot is false.

The video is old and shows clashes between the 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.