Old video shared as 'Pakistani flags' raised in Telangana's Hyderabad

What is the claim?

A 35-second video depicting people waving green flags amid traffic congestion on a road has surfaced on social media. It is accompanied by claims that 'Pakistan flags' were raised in Hyderabad's Tank Bund area, the capital of Telangana, a southern state in India.

One user posted, "Greatest democracy ours Pakistan flags flutter confidently On Tank Bund Hyderabad Proud to be a mute bystander (sic)," while another hinted that this occurred after the Congress party won in Telangana. Archives of such posts can be found here and here.

Local news outlet Asianet Newsable also reported this, citing a now-deleted tweet by Telangana BJP Spokesperson BL Srinivas Solanki, who alleged that Pakistan flags were raised in Telangana.

Screenshot of the claim circulating online. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

These claims emerged in the lead-up to India's Lok Sabha elections. However, investigations reveal them to be false. The video is not recent, and the flag depicted is not the Pakistani flag but an Islamic one.

What did we find?

A reverse image search led to news reports about Hyderabad police cautioning against sharing this video, clarifying that it was from last year's Milad-Un-Nabi celebrations. A similar statement was posted on their official Twitter account in response to a user who shared the video, stating, "It happened last year during Milad Un Nabi, and a case was also registered. So, please don't tweet falsely, if not, we have to register a case on you."

Milad-Un-Nabi is a festival celebrated by members of the Muslim community. It is believed to be the day on which Prophet Mohammad was born. 

Further searches led to a similar video shared by local news portal Hyderabad Deccan News on their YouTube channel. The clip, captioned in Hindi, indicated that a group conducted a bike rally for Milad-Un-Nabi, causing traffic disruptions. This video was posted on October 2, 2023, while Milad-Un-Nabi fell on September 27 and 28, 2023.

Notably, the flag in the viral video is not the Pakistani flag but an Islamic one. The key distinction is the absence of a white band on the left side.

Comparison between the flag in the viral video and the official flag of Pakistan (Source: X/Unsplash/Screenshot)

It's important to highlight that this video has been online since October 2023, predating the Congress government's assumption of power in Telangana. The Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) was in power in Telangana at that time, with the Congress forming the government in December 2023.

The verdict

An old video from Hyderabad, likely recorded during Milad-Un-Nabi celebrations in October 2023, has been erroneously circulated as Pakistan flags being waved in Hyderabad. The flag seen is Islamic, and the video emerged before the Congress government came to power in the state. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.