Claim: A video shows a large convoy of PTI supporters from Malakand travelling to Islamabad to attend the party’s rally near Sangjani on 8 September 2024.
Fact: The video has nothing to do with the PTI’s rally in September. It was originally posted on 14 August 2024 and shows traffic at Chattar Top during Independence Day celebrations.
On 8 September 2024, the verified Facebook page ‘PTI Punjab’ posted (archive) a video of hundreds of vehicles on a road in a mountainous valley, claiming that it showed supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf heading from Malakand to Islamabad to attend the party’s rally in the capital city. The accompanying caption reads as follows:
“ملاکنڈ: ایم این اے جنید اگبر کا قافلہ اسلام آباد کی جانب روانہ:
[Malakand: MNA Junaid Akbar’s convoy on the way to Islamabad]”
Junaid Akbar is a member of the National Assembly from the Malakand (NA-09) constituency and a “core PTI member”, who has “been active in Pakistani politics primarily since 2013”. He has also served as the party’s Central Deputy General Secretary, according to his X (erstwhile Twitter) profile.
PTI’s ‘first rally’ after 2024 elections
The PTI held its first rally near Sangjani in Islamabad since the controversial 8 February 2024 general elections, demanding the release of its incarcerated founder and former Pakistani prime minister, Imran Khan, who has been in jail for over 400 days since his arrest on 5 August 2024.
As Khan’s supporters poured in from around the country, Islamabad was effectively turned into a walled city after the city administration and law enforcement agencies put up shipping containers to block key entry points and deployed riot police.
Among the PTI leaders who addressed the crowd at the rally were Hammad Azhar, Ali Muhammad Khan, Sher Afzal Khan Marwat, and Aliya Hamza Malik, among others.
However, clashes erupted during the rally when PTI workers allegedly threw stones at the police officers when the latter tried to shut down the event for exceeding the allotted time and violating rules and regulations detailed in the no-objection certificate (NOC). Law enforcement officials fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
“A spokesman for the Islamabad police, in a statement, in turn accused the protesters of pelting police personnel with stones, injuring many of them, including a senior official,” Al Jazeera wrote. Muhammad Shoaib Khan, the senior superintendent of police for Safe City Operations, was among the cops injured during the clashes, according to another report.
Authorities also started arresting people as the event time expired, calling in the Frontier Corps (FC) for assistance, according to Aaj News, which also claimed that one of its reporters, Afzal Javed, was detained but let go after the intervention of a senior police officer.
Consequently, Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ali Nasir Rizvi said legal action would be taken against the PTI rally’s organisers.
Moreover, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif slammed some of the speeches made during the rally, terming them “disgusting” and “condemnable”, according to one report.
Arrests, new law
A day after the event, many PTI leaders were arrested in cases filed over the Sangjani rally, according to a report, which said a police spokesperson “confirmed the detention of four individuals but gave no details of charges”.
The party has claimed that “nearly a dozen of its parliamentarians had been picked up in Islamabad” and called for “countrywide protests for Friday against the new crackdown”. Among those arrested are PTI Chairperson Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, who was released later, Sher Afzal Khan Marwat, Zain Qureshi, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Naseem-ur-Rehman, Zubair Khan, and Shoaib Shaheen.
Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and one of the PTI’s firebrand leaders, criticised the government and the Pakistan Army, according to Reuters. He also made remarks about women and journalists that led to immediate backlash, with the Sindh Assembly even passing a resolution against him.
On 9 September, the PTI claimed that Gandapur had gone “missing” and was “confirmed [to have] been abducted/arrested” as contact with him could not be established. However, he reappeared hours later, with the politician’s brother saying his phone was active after seven hours while the party stated that he could not be reached as he was in a meeting where “mobile phone jammers” blocked signals.
The PTI had been trying to hold its rally for a while, initially scheduling it for July and then August after its NOC was revoked over security concerns. The party even approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for holding the event after it reportedly did not receive a response from the local administration. It was eventually given permission to do so on 8 September.
On the day of the rally, police claimed to have found “a suspicious bag”, which contained a “hand grenade, detonator, electric wires and other explosive material”, near the rally’s venue.
Prior to the rally, the government hurriedly passed Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act 2024, which regulates public gatherings and sets three-year prison times, as well as possible unspecified fines, and 10 years for repeat offenders. “The law defines assembly as any public or political gathering, rally or sit-in of more than 15 people on a public road, public place or any premises wholly or partly open air.”
Interestingly, in an informal conversation with journalists on 9 September at Adiala Jail, also known as Rawalpindi Central Jail, PTI founder Khan admitted that the rally on 22 August “was postponed at the request of the establishment, citing concerns over potential unrest in the country”, according to a report by The Express Tribune. He added that he did so “for the sake of Pakistan” after he was “guaranteed full support for an alternate rally” on 8 September.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes from the viral video posted by ‘PTI Punjab’ and found that it is neither related to the party’s Sangjani rally nor from 8 September.
The video was posted on 16 August 2024 on the YouTube channel Usama Shabbir, with the title, “14 August 2024 | Chattar Plain, Top | Happy Independence Day | #pakistanday #independenceday #shorts”.
The clip was also posted by the Facebook page ‘Chattar Plain Top’ on 15 August, with the following caption:
“On Independence Day, Azadi rallies from neighbouring cities converge at Chattar Top, where participants revel in the scenic beauty and pleasant weather. The venue comes alive with vibrant stalls and performances by local artists, who sing in the local dialect, amplifying the excitement of the crowd. Chattar Top is abuzz with festive fervour on this occasion.”
The Facebook page has credited user ‘Jamil Khan Akhunzada’ for the video.
Akhunzada also posted the same video on their profile on 14 August with the following caption:
“جشن آزادی منانے والے بد نظمی کی وجہ سے گھنٹوں ٹریفک میں پھنسے رہے ۔ دیگر ملکوں میں اگر اتنا مجمع اکٹھا ہو تو انتظامیہ پہلے سے ہی پلاننگ کرتی ہے جشن آزادی مبارک PK
[Those celebrating the Independence Day were stuck in traffic for hours due to poor planning. In other countries, if such a crowd gathers, the administration already plans ahead. Happy Independence Day]”
Soch Fact Check has reached out to Akhunzada for a comment and will update this article if and when we receive a response.
The evidence is enough to conclude that the viral video has nothing to do with the PTI’s 8 September rally, rendering the claim false.
Virality
The video posted by Facebook page ‘PTI Punjab’ has garnered over 120,000 views, as of writing time.
Soch Fact Check found that the video was posted here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook, here, here, here, and here on X, here and here on TikTok, and here, here, and here on YouTube.
Conclusion: The video has nothing to do with PTI’s September 2024 rally. It was originally posted on 14 August 2024 and shows traffic at Chattar Top during Independence Day celebrations.
Background image in cover photo: Jalal Ajmal
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