Fact check: Video of women protest in KP’s Bajaur is from 2021, not recent operation
Posts from multiple users on social media platforms on Wednesday shared a video, claiming it showed women in Bajaur protesting against the recent military operation in the district. However, the video is old from a 2021 protest over the killing of a party activist.
Security forces imposed a three-day curfew at 16 places in the district on July 29 and initiated an operation against militants in the areas.
Scores of people, mostly youth and political activists, gathered at Shago Village Chowk to protest the operation. They alleged that a number of innocent people were killed and wounded during an exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists.
On July 30, a Pakhtun rights activist posted a video on X showing a crowd of burqa-clad women walking through an alley with some holding black flags.
The caption of the post said: “Pashtun women have also stepped out of their homes, calling for peace in response to the Bajaur operation. The protest rally has begun. Across the entire Pashtun region, youth, elders, women, and children are chanting slogans for peace in Pashto, waving white shawls and expressing their desire for a peaceful life. However, state institutions continue efforts to suppress their voices.”
The post gained over 30,000 views.
Pakistani-Sikh journalist Harmeet Singh also shared the video on X, captioned: “Women came out on the streets against the Bajaur operation.”
His post garnered 143,700 views.
The same footage, accompanied by the same claim, was uploaded to YouTube, where it racked up 40,000 views.
Other shares of the same claim can be found here, here, here, here, here and here.
A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the ongoing military operation in Bajaur which has generated local anger and criticism.
Several users in the comments sections of the video were attributing the clip to a protest in Afghanistan.
However, a reverse image search on multiple screen grabs of the video yielded a Facebook post dated November 23, 2021, bearing the watermark of Hasban Media.
The user, who claimed to work in the said media agency, captioned the video: “In Bajaur, a sit-in continues for the second consecutive day, demanding the arrest of those responsible for the murder of Muhammad Ilyas Shaheed, who was killed yesterday by unidentified assailants. Women from the area have also joined the protest, wearing black flags and black bands on their heads.”
A keyword search in Urdu for terms like “Bajaur,” “Muhammad Ilyas Shaheed,” and “women” led to multiple local news reports about the alleged incident.
According to a November 23, 2021, report from The News International, Muhammad Ilyas Shaheed was a local activist of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), who was shot dead by unidentified assailants on November 22, 2021.
Outlets such as Mashriq TV and Swat News had also covered the subsequent protests, which saw participation from local women.
A video from the protest was also shared on Facebook, dated November 23, 2021, featuring a woman speaking to media agency Khyber News in Pashto.
The caption of the post said: “In Bajaur, local women joined a sit-in wearing black flags and black bands on their heads, demanding the arrest of those who killed Muhammad Ilyas Shaheed at the hands of unidentified assailants. Note: This appeal comes from the wife of Qari Muhammad Ilyas Shaheed.”
According to Dawn correspondent Zahid Imdad, the video featured the wife of Qari Muhammad Ilyas, who stated that her husband, a member of the Levies force, had repeatedly requested protection from local authorities, specifically the assistant commissioner and deputy commissioner, for six months before his killing, as he had received threats.
She expressed frustration over what she alleged were delaying tactics by the officials and said that unless the killers were held accountable, the protest would continue and expand to Islamabad and Karachi.
Despite her grief, she said she was proud of her husband’s martyrdom but emphasised that the authorities had failed to act despite knowing his life was in danger.
A comparison with the viral clip revealed that the child in both videos was the same, indicating that the footage was from the same protest.
Therefore, the fact-check determined that the claim that a viral video shows women protesting against the recent military operation in Bajaur is misleading. The video is from 2021 and shows women in Bajaur protesting the killing of a local politician.
This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.