Claim: Image shows Pashtun Tahafuz Movement’s (PTM) demonstration from October 2024 in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Fact: The image is of PTM’s peace rally in Bannu from July 2024, and not from the demonstrations held in October.
On 21 October, an X user posted a picture (archive) apparently showing supporters of PTM who demonstrated in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The caption reads: “An ocean of people! The brave people of Bannu. One and united for peace. #BannuRejectsMilitancy”
The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) is a grassroots civil rights group that has repeatedly called for peace and an end to the Pakistani military’s operations in the northwestern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Dubbed as ‘anti-militant operations’ against the Taliban and its proscribed chapter in KP, military operations have killed hundreds and displaced millions of locals.
The PTM has campaigned against gross human rights violations by the military, including enforced disappearances of locals and extrajudicial killings.
Authorities have resorted to stringent measures to stifle the PTM, which has gained popular support in the country. In early October, the government banned the group through the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, which Amnesty International said is an “affront on the rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly in the country.”
“This latest arbitrary ban under over-broad powers of the terror law is only the tip of the iceberg – for years the Pakistani authorities have suppressed such movements from marginalized regions by resorting to unlawful use of force, enforced disappearances, and media bans on the coverage of protests or rallies,” said Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia.
PTM and local parties demonstrated in Bannu in July against the newly announced military operation, Azm-e-Istehkam, and the unrest caused by militant attacks in the region which killed 62 soldiers in 2024. According to Dawn, the protests turned violent and gunfire, reportedly by the security forces, killed one person and injured 22 others.
Protests by the PTM were once again held in October, in Bannu, to call for an end to the “targeted killings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the release of PTM members, and the restoration of order and security in the province.”
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched the image and found social media posts that had shared the image in July 2024, when PTM had organized a peace rally in Bannu.
An Instagram user @whatisgoingoninpeshawar shared an image (archive), which was similar to the photo in the claim, on 19 July, captioned, “Bannu aman march” which translates to “Bannu peace march” in English.
A Reddit user posted the same photo four months ago, with the caption “Pakistani regime once again proved their double standards and hatred against Pashtuns.”
On X, a user posted the same image (archive) on 19 July with the caption “Aman March, Bannu Pukhtoon Khwa.” It also appeared on Facebook on 18 July here (archive), albeit without a caption.
Therefore, Soch Fact Check concludes that the image in the claim is not from PTM’s rally in October 2024 but from their rally held in July 2024.
Virality
The X post was viewed 10,800 times and liked 626 times.
It was shared on X here, here, here (second image), here (second image), here, here (first image), here (first image), here (third image), here.
Conclusion: The image does not show PTM’s October 2024 demonstration but rather its peace march held in July 2024.
Background image in cover photo: Voicepk.net
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com