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Old Video Falsely Shared To Show a Celebration of Balochistan’s Independence

We found out that the video dates back to 2024.

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A video is being widely shared, claiming to show Baloch human rights activist Mahrang Baloch declaring Balochistan, in Pakistan, an independent country.

  • One of the posts sharing the video is captioned, "Mahrang Baloch is not merely a voice. She is a symbol of Baloch resistance & the aspirations of the #Baloch people. Today, she has declared #Balochistan an independent country a bold assertion of Balochistan’s long-standing demand for freedom."

  • Amrita News also shared the same video with a similar claim.

(Archived versions of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is it true?: No, the video is from 2024 and is being shared with a false claim.

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How did we find out?: We ran a reverse image search on the video using Google Lens and found a video shared in 2024 with similar visuals.

  • The video was uploaded to YouTube on 29 January 2024 with a caption that reads, "Dr Mahrang Baloch Huge Jalsa in Quetta, Balochistan".

  • We observed that the video shared recently with the claim has a watermark.

  • We ran a reverse image search and found that it is the logo of the online news network, The Balochistan Post.

  • Following this, we went through The Balochistan Post's official X account and found the original post.

  • The video was uploaded on 27 January 2024 and is captioned "The roar of the lioness! Tens of thousands respond to Dr @MahrangBaloch_'s chants."

  • After running a keyword search, we found two reports on the gathering.

  • According to News Intervention, Dr Sabiha Baloch, a human rights activist, addressed the crowd at Shahwani Stadium about the history of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).

  • Dawn, a Pakistani English-language newspaper, published a report on 28 January 2024.

  • According to the report, the BYC leader Dr Mahrang Baloch addressed a gathering on 27 January and stated that a 'revolution' was brewing in Balochistan.

  • The gathering was at the Shahwani Stadium in Quetta.

  • We also found that Mahrang Baloch was sentenced to life imprisonment by an anti-terrorism court in Quetta on 22 June 2026 over the killing of a paramilitary soldier.

Conclusion: The video is old and does not show Mahrang Baloch declaring Balochistan an independent country.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)

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