Claim: Video shows a Hindu man shot dead in Sindh, Pakistan.
Fact: The video shows a man, identified as Anwar Mallah, being shot to death by his opponents in Hafizabad, Punjab.
Content Warning: This story contains graphic videos of violence and murder.
On 17 June 2024, an X (formerly Twitter) user posted a video (archive) with the caption, “Reportedly a Pakistani Hindu brutally killed by radical Islamists in Sindh, Pakistan. #AllEyesOnPakistaniHindus”. The graphic video shows a man being brutally shot to death by an unidentified gunman.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check investigated the claim after noticing comments from users who mentioned that the incident took place in Hafizabad, Punjab.
A keyword search on Google about “حافظ آباد قتل [Hafizabad killing]” led us to an article by Geo News Urdu from 17 June titled, “حافظ آباد: 13 مسلح ملزمان کی ایک شخص پر فائرنگ، لاش پر گولیاں برساکرویڈیو بناتے رہے [Hafizabad: 13 armed suspects shot at a person, shot on the body and made a video].”
According to the article, a group of 13 armed men killed a man, identified as Anwar Mallah, due to a longstanding feud in Hafizabad’s Chah Chora area. Police registered an FIR but no arrests have been made yet. Aaj News and Daily Pakistan also reported on the same incident.
The same video was also posted on 16 June on Instagram with the claim that it shows the murder of Anwar Mallah near Chenab river.
The Indian fact-checking outlet DFRAC, also a signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, debunked the same claim on 17 June and confirmed that it shows a killing which took place due to a long-standing enmity between Mallah and his opponents. mentioned that it does not include any religious angle.
This is not the first time the video has gone viral with a false claim. Soch Fact Check previously debunked a claim which said that the same video shows the killing of Soomar Behan, the owner of a camel, whose right leg was recently chopped off in Sanghar, Sindh.
Virality
The viral video received 40,000 views, 1,500 likes and 1,200 reposts on X. The archived versions of the clip and screengrab images can be seen here, here and here.
It was shared here on Facebook.
Conclusion: A viral video does not show a Hindu man being shot by radical Islamists in Sindh. It depicts Anwar Mallah, who was shot dead by his opponents in Hafizabad, Punjab due to a long-standing feud.
Background image in cover photo: Getty Image
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