Karachi police HQ attack: Twitter account shares false info on KPO incident

Claim: A Twitter account claims that Section 144 has been imposed in Karachi and authorities have advised people to stay at home after more than 10 Baloch freedom fighters attacked the Karachi police chief’s office at Shahrah-e-Faisal, alongside an image of the site of the attack.

Fact: No official announcement has been made about Section 144. Moreover, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan have claimed responsibility for the attack. At the time of writing, no credible evidence was found about the involvement of Baloch freedom fighters.

On 17 February 2023, Twitter account @DayWithNews (archive) started posting tweets at 6:53 PM (Pakistan time), around the same time as a terrorist attack took place at the Karachi Police Office (KPO) wherein armed attackers gained entry to the secure building, lobbed hand grenades, and engaged in heavy gunfire.

The KPO is located off Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi’s main thoroughfare that houses numerous high-security buildings, near Gora Qabrustan — or the Gora Cemetery — and the Aisha Bawany Academy.

The attack on the Karachi Capital City Police Officer’s office — which took place around 7:10 PM, as per Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah — resulted in casualties on both sides, according to credible reports (archive) and Sindh government’s spokesperson Murtaza Wahab.

@DayWithNews posted multiple tweets, most of them about the Karachi Police Office attack, since evening and almost all posts contain misleading and false information. The claims include:

• “More than 10 Baloch Freedom Fighters attacked the Karachi police chief’s office located on main Sharea Faisal, with firing still ongoing.”
  (link to the tweet and its archive)
• “Complete Blackout in #Karachi Karachi ke logo ko ghar se bahar aane k liye #SIndhPolice ne mana kiya hai. [Sindh Police have forbidden people of Karachi from leaving their homes].”
  (link to the tweet and its archive)
• “Section 144 has been imposed in entire Karachi. Appeal to the people of Karachi to stay at home.”
  (link to the tweet and its archive)
• An image showing the site of the attack
  (link to the tweet and its archive)

Soch Fact Check has investigated other claims related to the attack on Karachi Police Chief’s Office here.

Fact or Fiction?

The first claim is false as the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), alternatively known as the Pakistani Taliban, have claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack, as reported by a number of credible organisations, including the BBC and Reuters, as well as The Khorasan Diary, a digital platform specialising in news and research on conflict, politics, and economy.

The second claim stating that Sindh Police have forbidden citizens of Karachi from leaving their homes is also false as the account in question provided this report as its source, which has no mention of such an advisory from the cops.

Soch Fact Check did not find any other credible source that mentioned such an advisory either.

Similarly, the third claim about the imposition of Section 144 is also false as no reliable news outlet or government official has made any such announcement.

The fourth post, which claims to show the site of the attack, is also false; the picture actually appeared in an Express Tribune article (archive) titled, “At least 12 injured by aerial firing on New Year’s Eve in Karachi,” and published on 1 January 2019.

Soch Fact Check observed that although @DayWithNews joined Twitter in February 2022, the account suddenly started tweeting in the evening of 17 February 2023.

Virality

We found that the tweets gained 380, 1,262, 474, and 551 views, respectively.

Conclusion: Soch Fact Check did not find any credible evidence for the claims.

Background image in cover photo: HassanMasood films