Claim: While speaking to the press on the morning of 26 November 2024 about the PTI rally heading to Islamabad, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi claimed that the police officers were not using teargas shelling but the PTI protesters were.
Fact: Naqvi’s statement is entirely inaccurate. There are several instances of documented evidence of teargas shelling being carried out by the police available on social media.
On the morning of 26 November 2024, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi spoke to the media in a press conference. He can be heard saying:
“Woh baray baray pankhay sath la rahay hain aur ansoo gas ki itni massive scale pe woh, mene inko [police] kaha ke yaar ansoo gas kiun jala rahay ho, unhone kaha hum nahi chala rahay. Unki side se ansoo gas arahi hai aur saath woh pankhay laga rahay takay sari hawa udhar ko jae”
[Translation: They have brought big fans and the scale of teargas usage was on such a massive scale, then I asked these guys [the police] why are you throwing teargas at them? Then they told me that it’s not us, they [PTI supporters] have brought them with themselves and huge fans so they can blow the wind in our direction]
At a later point he reiterates his earlier statement and further adds, “Yeh ansoo gas ki shell apko milsakti hai? Kisi aur ko mislakti hai? 4,500 ka ek shell ata hai, yeh jo hazaron mein chalay hain yeh kahan se aye hain? KPK government ke hi hain. KPK government ne unko provide kiye hain saray ke saray, yeh koi kahin aur se nahi leke aye.”
[Translation: Can you find these teargas shells? Can someone else get them? One shell costs PKR 4,500 so if they used thousands of shells, where did they all come from? They are all from the KPK government, the KPK government provided them with all of these, no one can get these from anywhere else.]
Fact or Fiction?
Al Jazeera and France24 are two of many international news organisations to publish some photographs taken in Islamabad on 26 November 2024. Several of these photographs captured policemen in action, firing teargas shells and rubber bullets straight at the protesters. Al Jazeera also reported,
“Police used tear gas to disperse the crowds on Tuesday, with reports of several people killed in clashes. Dozens more were injured, including journalists who were attacked by Khan’s supporters, who also beat a videographer covering the protests for The Associated Press news agency and broke his camera.”
These photographs and first hand reports prove that the interior minister’s statements were entirely false.
Description: Police fire rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse protesters in Islamabad. [Anjum Naveed/AP Photo]
Description: Police fire tear gas canisters during the protests. [Aamir Qureshi/AFP]
In a video published on YouTube on 26 November on citizen journalist Usman Chaudhry’s YouTube channel, an older protester is asked what he is carrying in his hands, to which he responded:
“Bhai yeh in zaalimon ne hamare upar jo bara aslaha istemaal kiya, jo shell istemaal kiye, ye mein woh utha kar lejaunga, aur dikahaunga gaon walon ko apne baal bachon ko ke bhai yeh dekho. Itna tou koi dushman ka fauj bhi koi aesa nahi karega.”
[Translation: Brother the way these oppressors have attacked us with all kinds of big weapons, they have used shelling against us, and now I will take this shell back to my village and show my children and grandchildren about how they attacked us worse than any enemy’s army.]
In this screengrab from the video, the tear gas shell is very clearly visible and the following text can be seen printed on the can: Tear Gas Shell (short range) CS irritant agent 37/38 MM (1.5 IN). CALIBRE 63 M (75 MD) Range Projectile to be used by qualified law enforcement personnel.
Several YouTube channels, social media users and news organizations have also shared images and videos of the police actively firing teargas shells at the protesters. These include but are not limited to Geo News, Dawn News, Reuters, CRUX, NuktaPakistan and others.
Virality
Mohsin Naqvi is the interior minister of Pakistan. His press conferences are covered by every news channel in the country. This specific press conference was viewed at least 16,000 times at 92News, and 50,000 times on 24News.
Conclusion: Contrary to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s misleading statement, the police fired teargas shells at the protestors in Islamabad.
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Background image in cover photo: Al Jazeera
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