Supporters of the imprisoned former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan are trying to occupy the streets of the capital Islamabad in October 2024. However, the video of the mass protest that has been circulated on social media does not show the latest protest. The video, which has been viewed tens of thousands of times, was actually filmed in the country’s largest city Karachi and shared online after Khan was fired in April 2022.
“D-Chowk Islamabad,” read the Urdu-language caption alongside a video posted on Facebook on October 4, 2024.
“D-Chowk” refers at the intersection in Islamabad located near important buildings including the Parliament House, the Presidential Palace and the Supreme Court (link saved).
The video — which has been viewed more than 100,00 times — shows a large crowd gathered at night on a wide street.
The video was also shared alongside a similar false claim on YouTube here and here.
Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has been opposed to a campaign to criticize the government by protesting since the former leader was arrested on multiple charges in 2023.
He maintains that the charges against him, some of which are yet to appear in court, are designed to prevent him from returning to office.
In early October PTI activists began driving to Islamabad from Khan’s base in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but were met with roadblocks of shipping containers and volleys of tear gas (link saved).
Small and scattered caravans entered Islamabad in protest against the government, which authorized troops to be deployed on the streets.
The video circulating, however, was filmed in Karachi and does not show the latest footage.
The eviction is being protested
A reverse image search of the video’s keyframes found the same image posted on Facebook on April 11, 2022 when Khan’s supporters protested his ouster in a no-confidence motion in parliament (archived link).
“The decision of Karachi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and a confident Pakistan,” read the text of the document.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the fake post (left) and the April 2022 Facebook video (right):
PTI’s verified account on X also shared the same clip of the meeting on April 11, 2022 with the caption: “Karachi rocked. Dear Chairman #ImranKhan, thank you for making us a nation! What we are seeing across Pakistan today is something common, I will never forget!” (archived link).
Meanwhile, the PTI announced that the protest sites include the Millennium Mall in Karachi (link saved).
AFP confirmed the location of the video by comparing it to a street image on Google Maps of buildings throughout the Millennium Mall (archived link).
Below is a comparison of the video screenshot of the fake post (left) and its Google Maps street view (right) with the same highlighted:
AFP also debunked false information about Khan.
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