Viral Video of Pakistan Police ‘Attacking’ Hindus is Fake

A reverse image search shows the video dates back to June 2013, and does not show a religion-based persecution.

A video showing Pakistani security officials allegedly attacking minorities has gone viral on social media.

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CLAIM

A video showing Pakistani security officials attacking its minorities has gone viral on social media.

The video, that has over 1.4 million views on the Facebook page भा.ज.पा : Mission 2019, purportedly shows members of a Pakistani police force brutally beating up Hindus, a minority in Pakistan.

The 200-second video, showing police breaking into people’s homes and thrashing them, was shared with the title: “इस विडियो को देखने के बाद आपकी भी आँखे भर जायेगी ,हो सके तो कुछ और लोगो को जगा देना (You will tear up after watching this video. Share it to make more people aware).”

The video, shared on 2 January, shows forces taking away the men in the family after breaking into houses, while the women can be heard wailing and shouting in the background.

It was shared on several other Facebook pages ( We Support Hindutva, Narendra Modi PM 2019, नमो समर्थक, बजरंग दल – चौमूं नगर, etc) as well with similar claims.

TRUTH

A reverse image search of the frames of the video reveals that it dates back to June 2013 and does not show a religion-based persecution. It was originally shot in Faisalabad in Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab.

A reverse search of the image revealed multiple results.

The search also uncovered news reports (see RozeTV, DunyaNews, and Tribune) of the actual incident – which had no communal angle at all.

The video was shot during a protest against electricity load-shedding in Faisalabad, during which Pakistan’s Elite Force had been deployed to contain the protesting masses.

At least five personnel of Elite Force were suspended for forcing themselves into the houses of citizens and torturing women, as per the news report.

The same video had also been shared earlier accompanied by a message claiming that a Hindu family in Pakistan was attacked by police for placing a  saffron flag on their house, Boom Live had reported.

VIDEO ALSO SHARED TO SHOW ‘PERSECUTION’ OF CHRISTIANS

The reverse search of the video also revealed that the same footage has also been used in the past to falsely highlight the persecution of the Christian minority in Pakistan.

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