Footage has emerged of Pakistani police protests following deadly militant attacks, falsely claiming it is of a demonstration demanding the release of politician Sher Afzal Marwat. He is considered one of the leaders of Pakistan’s opposition party and was arrested after a rally on September 8. However, the protest was met with police violence in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“The tribe of Sher Afzal Khan Marwat has started a protest in Lakki Marwat against the arrest of Afzal Khan Marwat,” read an Urdu message dated September 9.
The post, which has been shared 10,000 times, shows a video showing a large group of people.
Marwat, a lawmaker from the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, was arrested on September 9, a day after a large rally in the capital Islamabad (archived link).
He and nine other members of parliamentthe Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of Rom Khan were charged under a new protest law and the anti-terrorism law.
The anti-terrorism court granted them bail of 30,000 rupees (US$100).
They were accused of violating the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, which was passed days before the rally. Human rights groups said the move was an attempt to curtail freedom of expression and peaceful protest.
PTI has been facing a massive crackdown since Khan was jailed in August last year on a series of charges he alleges are politically motivated and aimed at keeping him from power.
The video circulated in similar posts on Facebook And X reports showing support for Imran Khan.
Police killings
A reverse image search for the video revealed that it had previously been published in a news report about a police protest following militant attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The clip was posted by local news channel Aaj TV on September 10 in a YouTube video titled: “Lakki Marwat police stage sit-in over terror attacks” (archived link).
Hundreds of police officers held a protest in the town of Lakki Marwat the day before, following two militant attacks that left three police officers dead.
The protesters, mostly dressed as civilians, demanded the withdrawal of security forces from the district and strengthening of local police powers to tackle militant threats in the area (archived link).
Anwar Zaman, an Aaj News reporter who was at the scene, confirmed that there was a link with the police killing.
“The police protested for their rights, not because of Sher Afzal Marwat,” he told AFP.
He provided AFP with footage he filmed during the demonstration, which shows the same people as the video that was wrongly shared online.
A high-ranking police officer also told AFP that the protest was linked to police violence by militants.
