A video of a man being thrown off from a stack of shipping containers for allegedly offering namaz on the top has gone viral. The video shows a man sitting cross-legged on the container and being physically confronted by police personnel in riot gear. One of the police officials pushes him down.
Those sharing the video claim that the video is from Pakistan where police officials assaulted a person for offering namaz in public.
An X user shared the video and wrote, “Indian police should learn from Pakistani police How to treat people offering Namaz on roads and public property. (sic)”
SouthCheck found that the claim was misleading. The police action in the video happened against those demonstrating for the release of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan.
On a Google reverse image search, we found the same video on the X handle of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on November 27, 2024. Imran Khan is the founder and former chairman of the political party PTI. The caption read, “An innocent, unarmed protester was seen praying on a container when an armed paramilitary officer brutally pushed him off from a height equivalent to three stories. This shocking act of brutality raises profound questions: What did the officer, his superiors in the military, Mohsin Naqvi, and the PML-N hope to achieve through this horrifying display of violence and the countless other lives they have taken from their fellow citizens?”
Taking a hint, we searched with relevant keywords and found a report published by The Independent on November 28, 2024. The report stated that the Pakistani security forces pushed a protester off a 25-foot-tall tower of shipping containers during a demonstration in which nearly 1,000 people were arrested. The incident happened in Islamabad when thousands of supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan started protesting, demanding his release from prison.
Jagran English had also reported the incident.
Hence, we conclude that the viral post is misleading.
