Video from India shared as protest in Pakistan demanding Imran Khan’s release

What’s being claimed?

A video showing a rally of bikes and cars is circulating online, claiming to depict a recent protest in Islamabad, Pakistan, demanding the release of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is currently imprisoned.

An X user shared the video with the caption, “Wow, wow!!! The local people of Islamabad also came out under the leadership of Sher Afzal Marwat (Translated from Urdu).” The post garnered 11,000 likes and 3,700 reposts. Marwat is a member of Parliament in Pakistan and the senior vice president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The viral video was also shared on Facebook with the same narrative, with archives available here and here. 

Screenshot of social media posts. (Source: X/Facebook)

The claim was shared in the backdrop of a protest rally held in Pakistan on November 25, 2024. According to a report by Hindustan Times, published on November 26, 2024, PTI members and supporters of Khan marched to Islamabad after Khan's final call to protest his imprisonment. The report noted that shoot and sight orders were issued as the protest reached the outskirts of the capital, and five people were killed as the protest turned violent. 

However, the claim is false. The viral video is from India and shows a rally organized by a member of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, a political party in India.

Here are the facts

A closer look at the video showed a person in a vehicle holding up a tricolor with saffron, white, and green at the 24-second mark of the viral clip. This indicates that the video may not be from Pakistan, as the Pakistani flag is green and white.

Through a reverse image search, we found that the same video was posted by Naser Siddiqui, an AIMIM member from Aurangabad, on his Facebook account (archived here) on September 24, 2024. The caption read, “Gustakh e Rasool Ke Khilaaf Chalo Mumbai Rally.” This showed that the video predates the recent protests held in Pakistan.

Tahreek Farogh-e-Islam, a Muslim welfare organization, also shared multiple visuals from the 'Chalo Mumbai' (head to Mumbai) rally on September 25, 2024, on its Instagram account (archived here). One of the clips in this video matches the viral visuals. The video was captioned: “Tahreek Farogh-e-Islam Distributed Snacks & Water 8 In Tiranga Rally ( Namoose Risalat ﷺ Rally ).” 

Screenshot of the Tahreek Farogh E Islam video. (Source: Instagram)

The controversy that led to the rally

A report by The Times of India stated that the AIMIM called for a rally from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to Mumbai in the western Indian state of Maharashtra to protest the controversial statements made by BJP politician Nitesh Rane and a Hindu seer Ramgiri Maharaj, about Prophet Muhammad. In September 2024, around 50 cases were filed against the seer for his alleged remarks about the Prophet, which triggered protests among the Muslim community in the lead-up to the state Assembly elections. Rane later voiced support for the seer, claiming he would “enter mosques to beat up Muslims” if anybody spoke against the seer. Rane was also booked by the police for this.

To protest these remarks, former AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel announced that a rally called the Tiranga Samvidhan Rally (tricolor Constitution rally) would be held and that he would visit Mumbai to gift copies of the Constitution to the BJP-led alliance in Maharashtra.

While the video's exact location is unknown, it shows a rally held in India in September 2024 and predates Khan's call to PTI supporters to stage the protest in Pakistan.

The verdict

A video from India has been shared with the false claim that it shows the recent PTI rally demanding Imran Khan's release in Pakistan.