Claim: Dr Shah Nawaz Kunbhar was buried by a bulldozer covering his body with mud.
Fact: A video showing a body being bulldozed is old and has resurfaced with a false claim. It does not depict Dr. Shah Nawaz’s burial, who was laid to rest by his family on 18 September.
Following the death of Dr Shah Nawaz Kunbhar, a blasphemy suspect from Umerkot who was killed by the police in a staged encounter, X user @myaseenrind shared a video with the caption: “لوگ جانوروں کی لاش کو بھی بہت احترام سے دفناتے ہیں یہ ایک ڈاکٹر کی جسد خاکی کو جلانے کے بعد دور کہیں ویرانے میں دفنانے کے مناظر ہیں۔
#blasphemy #JusticeForDrShahnawaz”
[Translated from Urdu: People also bury the corpses of animals with great respect. There are scenes of a doctor burying the body of a doctor in a remote desert after cremation.
#blasphemy #JusticeForDrShahnawaz]
The video was reposted and has since been reshared on X as well as other social media platforms. One user reposted the video writing, “Heart wrenching and horrific 💔
This is how Dr Shahnawaz was buried.
Is family par Bohat bara Zulm hua hai
Bohat bara…”
[Translated from Roman Urdu: A great injustice has been done to this family. A very great one.]
The video was also shared on Threads with the caption: “لوگ جانوروں کی لاش کو بھی احترام سے دفناتے ہیں لیکن یہاں ڈاکٹر شاہ نواز کی لاش ہے جسے پولیس نے بغیر تحقیق کئے توہین رسالت کے الزام میں گولی مار دی، لاش کو جلایا اور ورثا کی اجازت کے بغیر دور ویرانے میں دفن کر دیا۔یہ تصویر ہمارے معاشرے میں عدم برداشت اور مذہبی انتہا پسندی کی عکاسی کرتی ہے۔ آج کل پتا نہیں چلتا کہ کب کوئی اٹھ کر آپ پر توہین رسالت کا الزام لگا کے سر کاٹ کر جنت کمانے کی کوشش کرے۔ سب اپنی اپنی باری کا انتظار کرے یہ آگ سب کے گھروں تک پہنچے گی۔”
[Translated from Urdu: People even bury the bodies of animals with respect, but here lies Dr. Shah Nawaz, who was shot by the police without investigation on charges of blasphemy. His body was burned and buried in a distant wilderness without the family’s consent. This image reflects the intolerance and religious extremism in our society. Nowadays, it’s hard to tell when someone might suddenly accuse you of blasphemy and try to earn paradise by beheading you. Everyone should wait for their turn — this fire will reach all homes.]
Dr Shah Nawaz Kunbhar
According to the BBC, Dr Kunbhar, a doctor from Umerkot, Sindh, had gone into hiding after being accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad and sharing blasphemous content on social media. A 25 September report by Dawn detailed that, “A team of the Umerkot police proceeded to Karachi after coming to know that the suspect had gone to that city. They arrested him on 18 September and handed him over to the Sindhri police of Mirpurkhas district.” Sindhri police claimed on the following day that Dr Shah Nawaz Kunbhar was killed in a police encounter, while “another suspect who was accompanying him managed to escape from the encounter site,” Dawn’s report added.
On 26 September, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar revealed that an investigation committee found that Dr Shah Nawaz Kunbhar was killed in a staged police encounter in Umerkot, several news media outlets reported. “Our police officers are involved in this incident […] We are ordering a registration of first information report against them,” Lanjar was quoted as saying by Geo News.
The Home Minister assured that no one would be spared and announced that the Chief Minister would offer compensation to the doctor’s family. The committee’s report emphasised the illegal actions of the police and recommended strict disciplinary action and further investigation by senior officers, the report by Geo News added.
Dr Kunbhar’s uncle, Muhammad Ayub, informed The News that on the 12th Rabiul Awwal, he learned about inappropriate posts from his nephew’s social media account. Dr Kunbhar, however, contacted him later, stating he was in Karachi and had not used the account for three years. In the same conversation, Ayub claimed that the Mirpurkhas CIA police arrested Dr Kunbhar from a Karachi hotel and killed him in a staged encounter.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed deep concern over the extrajudicial killings of blasphemy suspects, highlighting the involvement of law enforcement in such incidents. Additionally, civil society activists have called for a judicial inquiry into the deceased’s killing, The News reported, adding that, “A large number of rights activists offered the funeral prayers in absentia for Dr Kunbhar in Jainro village of Umerkot district on Sunday afternoon.”
The publication further quoted rights activist Masood Lohar who called for the prevention of such incidents, reiterating that the local police and administration should play a proactive role. Mukhtiar Abbasi, another activist, revealed to The News that Dr Kunbhar had suffered from mental health issues for four years and that fundamentalists had placed a bounty of Rs 5 million on his life. He further stressed the importance of a judicial inquiry since the police were directly involved in the case.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes of the viral video and found this video on Facebook that was shared on 21 July 2024. Another account had also shared the same video with the caption: “هن ماملي جو خبر ته نه آهي پر اهيا يقين سان چوا ٿو هي ملڪ مسلمانن جو آهي پر انسانیت اهي نه آهي سلام آ ان کي جيڪو ونڈو رڪارڊ ڪري ٿو😢”
[Translated from Sindhi: I am not aware of this matter, but I can say with certainty that this country belongs to Muslims, yet there is no humanity here. Salute to the one who is recording this incident. 😢]
To further investigate the claim, we conducted a keyword search using the words Dr Shah Nawaz Kunbhar and burial. We found a report by The Current that stated that Premo Kolhi tried to save the doctor’s body from an extremist mob and later buried him respectfully.
We also came across a Dawn report stating that a large number of people, including members of various nationalist groups, lawyers, and civil society activists, visited the bereaved family on Sunday to express their condolences. They condemned the incident as a “gruesome murder” in police custody and offered their sympathies and solidarity, assuring the family of their full support in seeking justice.
They placed floral wreaths and a Sindhi Ajrak on his temporary grave and held funeral prayers in absentia, the report added.
According to another Dawn report, on 25 September, the deceased’s brother-in-law, Mohammad Ibrahim Kunbhar, filed an FIR stating that while transporting the body in an ambulance to their native Janhero village, he and Advocate Junaid followed in separate cars for the funeral. They encountered a hostile crowd, led by Maulvi Ahmed Shahani, who blocked the road and incited the crowd to set the ambulance on fire. A group with petrol-filled bottles advanced toward them shouting slogans, the report added.
Fearing for their safety, they quickly transferred the body to a car and headed to their farmland to bury it the next day on 19 September. “However, around 35 people from among the crowd managed to reach us. They snatched the body from us, set it on fire and escaped. We put out the fire and buried the body,” Dawn’s report added from the complainant’s statement.
Neither Dr Kunbhar’s brother-in-law’s complaint nor any of the other news reports mention that his body was bulldozed in a deserted area.
On 22 September, X user @TweetsofPR shared a picture (archive) with the caption: “Although I don’t have much hope for Sindh, such images spark a ‘What if’ moment and a tiny ray of hope.
Dr. Shahnawaz’s funeral prayer is being offered in the village of Kunbhar. This might be the first time that people are coming out openly.”
We subsequently found the video of the funeral prayers on Facebook, which was captioned: “ڈاکٹر شاہنواز کنبھر شہید کا جنازہ کسی مولوی نے نہیں بلکہ عبدالمومن میمن نامی ایک عام مسلمان نے پڑھایا۔
عوام اگر صرف جنازہ پڑھانا سیکھ لے تو مذہب کی آڑ میں چلنے والی بہت خرابیاں ازخود ٹھیک ہوجائیں گی۔
اُن لوگوں نے کمال کر دیا جو جنازے کے لیے پہنچے۔”
[Translated from Urdu: The funeral of Dr. Shah Nawaz Kanbar Shaheed was not performed by any Maulvi but by an ordinary Muslim named Abdul Momin Memon.
If the public only learns to perform funerals, then many of the malfunctions under the guise of religion will be cured automatically.
The people who showed up for the funeral did a great job.]
The video was also shared here on Facebook.
On 23 September, Islamabad-based journalist, A. Waheed Murad, shared a video (archive) on X captioned: “سندھ کے صحرا میں
ایک تھا پریمو”
[Translated from Urdu: In the Sindh desert
There was a premo]
This video has not been shared elsewhere, but the caption suggests it shows Dr Kunbhar being buried by Premo Kolhi. The video is not audible but shows a man carrying a shrouded body and placing it in a grave. A few others can be seen standing nearby who are making gestures probably to guide him.
Another user shared videos (archive) of activists and other community members gathered at the doctor’s grave to honour him. She wrote, “What unfolded in Sindh after Dr. Shahnawaz’s horrific death is both uplifting and bittersweet.
The community’s gathering to honor him and stand against hatred is heartwarming, yet it starkly contrasts with the mob “justice” that has taken hold.”
Soch Fact Check was unable to independently verify the origin or context of the video in the claim; however, the video first appeared on the internet in July 2024 and predates the killing of Dr Shah Nawaz. Therefore, it does not show his body being bulldozed.
Virality
The claim was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here on X. Archived here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Threads, it was shared here.
It was also shared on Facebook here.
Conclusion: The video showing a shrouded body being bulldozed is not of Dr. Shah Nawaz Kunbhar. The video predates his killing and first appeared online on 21 July 2024.
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Background image in cover photo: Directorate General Of Antiquities & Archaeology, Government Of Sindh
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