CLAIM
A video on social media is being shared widely with the claim that it shows Pakistani flags hoisted above a few buildings in Vijay Colony area in Jalandhar, Punjab.
A man can be heard speaking in the video. Amongst other things, he says, “These are Pakistani flags which are being hoisted by the Christian minority in the area, following which Jalandhar has become Mini Pakistan.”
An archived version of the video can be seen here.
The video was also viral on Facebook.
TRUE OR FALSE?
The claim is false and the flags that can be seen are not Pakistani flags, but some Islamic flags that were hoisted from buildings to mark an upcoming Islamic occasion.
WHAT WE FOUND
The Quint noted that both the caption of the video and the man speaking in it stated the scene of the incident as Vijay Colony in Jalandhar. Keeping this in mind, we called the police officials in charge of the area in Jalandhar in order to verify whether something of this sort had actually taken place.
Speaking to The Quint, ACP (Model Town) Dharam Pal said that while the police had actually been called in after ruckus was bestirred over Pakistani flags allegedly being hoisted in the area, they had found the reality to be very different. He said that some people had started a rumour about the flags being Pakistan’s and had called the police to intervene and take action.
“The police sent a team to the area and took the flags down,” Pal said, but added that after some investigation and scrutiny, it was found that the flags were simply Islamic flags and not Pakistani ones. Pal said that the people who lodged the complaint had not been aware of the difference and had believed the rumours being spread.
Pal explained that the Muslim community, who had hoisted the flags, pointed out that they were not Pakistani but Islamic ones, which they had hoisted ahead of Prophet Mohammed’s birthday on 10 November.
The ACP also said that there were some points about the flag which helped clarify the confusion. According to him, some of the flags had some red along with green, a colour which is not present in Pakistan’s flag. This can be seen in the video, on the tallest flag. Moreover, he said that the moon in one of the flags was inverted, setting it apart from the national flag of Pakistan.
Pal told The Quint that the incident happened on 4 November and that the police had restored the flags on the buildings after the clarification and that the matter had been cleared up completely. “There is no tension in the area anymore. We explained the matter to the complainants and it has been cleared up now,” Pal said.
Therefore, the flags that can be seen flying in the video are not of Pakistan, but simply Islamic flags.
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