Claim: A video shows a protest in Balochistan against the arrest of Dr Mahrang Baloch.
Fact: The claim is false. The video predates the arrest of Dr Mahrang Baloch. It likely shows a protest held in Chilas, Gilgit, against WAPDA when demonstrators demanded adequate compensation of land for those displaced by the construction of the Diamer Bhasha Dam.
Following Mahrang Baloch’s arrest on 22 March, a video (archive) has been widely shared on Facebook with the caption: “ماہ رنگ بلوچ گرفتار
بلوچستان نکل پڑا اس پر بلوچستان کو روکنا مشکل نہیں بلکہ ناممکن ہے”
[Translation: Mahrang Baloch arrested.
Balochistan has risen; stopping Balochistan is not difficult, but impossible.]
The following slogans can be heard in the video:
“Punjab ko suna dou na-manzoor, jernel bhi sun lein na-manzoor, fouji ko suna dou na-manzoor, faujon ko suna do na-manzoor” [Tell the council, ‘unacceptable,’ let the generals hear, ‘unacceptable,’ tell the soldier, ‘unacceptable,’ let the armies hear, ‘unacceptable.’]
Dr Mahrang Baloch
Dr Mahrang Baloch has been a vocal activist since her father’s alleged enforced disappearance in 2009. On 22 March 2025, Baloch and 17 other protesters, including seven women, were arrested after staging a sit-in outside the University of Balochistan., The protesters demanded the release of the leaders and other members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), whom they said were unlawfully detained by the security forces.
The protest turned violent, with at least three people killed by security forces. Baloch was subsequently moved to Quetta’s Huda District Prison.
On 24 March, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) posted on X about the third day of protests in Panjgur against the crackdown on BYC members, including the arrest of Dr Mahrang Baloch. Protesters demanded an end to the alleged state repression and enforced disappearances, the X post said.
Despite firing by FC personnel to disperse the crowd, the protests persisted, the same post added. It further stated that the situation had worsened as live rounds and tear gas was fired by the police and militia against the demonstrators.
BYC members also held a demonstration in Karachi on 24 March to condemn the “illegal detention” of their leaders, according to Dawn. The Sindh government detained BYC leader Sammi Deen Baloch and four others for 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order, following their protest in Karachi. Police used force to disperse the protesters, the report added. Counter-protests against BYC also took place, despite the ban on public gatherings.
Fact or Fiction?
While the caption of the post claimed that the video shows the demonstration held to protest Mahrang Baloch’s arrest, we do not hear them mentioning the name of Dr Baloch or any of the leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) who were arrested.
Soch Fact Check verified if the video does show a recent protest in Balochistan and reverse-searched its keyframes to trace the original footage. While we were unable to find the original clip, we found another video of the same protest that was filmed from a different angle, titled “Thousands Protest in Chilas: Demanding Rights for Diamer Bhasha Dam Affectees”.
Besides its title, we noted that the video was shared by The Azadi Times, an independent news portal dedicated to the people and issues of Jammu and Kashmir, on 16 February 2025 predating the recent arrest of Dr Mahrang Baloch. The location in this YouTube video appears to be the same as the one being fact-checked: it also shows a building with green paint and the word “Oppo” written on it in the background, and the posters for Crony Public High School on the boundary wall are also visible.
According to the description of the video, it shows thousands of protesters from 43 villages in the Diamer district who had gathered in Chilas, Gilgit-Baltistan. They demanded compensation for lands acquired for the Diamer-Bhasha Dam project, while rallying under the movement Haqooq Do, Dam Banao Tehreek (Give Rights, Build the Dam Movement), the description stated.
The protesters’ slogans in this video are unintelligible. However, we found an extended version of the video on YouTube shared on 16 February by Media Lens, an independent media platform focusing on Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral. While the post does not carry any description, its title, too, claims that it is a video of “The Diamer Bhasha Dam protest rally”. The location in this video is identical to the location in the video we’re fact checking.
This video shows a man at the protest giving a speech on how those affected by the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam are facing hardships. His speech is followed by the chant “Nara e Takbeer,” and the crowd responds with, “Allah o Akbar.” The next audible slogan is “Yeh WAPDA-gardi na-manzoor” [This WAPDA oppression is unacceptable]. Soch Fact Check could not discern the next few slogans demonstrators raise after this point.
According to our translation, the speaker further says, “It’s not just 40 crore! Who knows how many more crores were lost to corruption? Yet, no one questioned that, while those whose homes are being destroyed are expected to sacrifice for Pakistan’s progress.”
Soch Fact Check then investigated the details around the protest itself and conducted a keyword search to find any news reports on it. According to Dawn, thousands of protesters rallied in Chilas, Gilgit last month against the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and their failure to compensate the locals whose land was acquired for the Diamer-Bhasha Dam.
The protesters accused WAPDA of reneging on promises, and issued a one-week ultimatum to meet their demands or face a construction halt. On 24 February, talks between the Minister for Kashmir Affairs and GB Amir Muqam and the protesters ended in a deadlock. The protesters refused to call off their sit-in and urged more people to join.
Our investigation thus suggests that the video likely shows the protest against WAPDA that took place in Chilas, Gilgit last month.
Since the video in the claim actually predates Dr Mahrang Baloch’s arrest on 22 March, we conclude that it is entirely unrelated. Soch Fact Check therefore rates the claim as false.
Virality
The claim garnered significant traction on Facebook receiving over 32,000 likes and 3,000 shares. It was shared here, here, here, and here. Archived here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The viral video predates the arrest of Dr Mahrang Baloch. Our investigation suggests that it likely shows the protest held against WAPDA in Chilas, Gilgit-Baltistan last month, over what locals claimed was the inadequate compensation of land for those displaced by the construction of the Diamer Bhasha Dam.
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Background image in cover photo: BBC/Nayyar Abbas
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