Claim: PML-N leader, Ataullah Tarar attempted to persuade people in his constituency to vote for him by saying, “We’ve made an agreement (with the army to come into power). If you vote for someone else, your vote will be wasted. You won’t have any say in our government.” after which he was pelted with stones by angry villagers.
Fact: The video does not show Ataullah Tarar, but Musa Elahi, who is the nephew of the PTI leader, Parvez Elahi. The incident took place in Gujarat on 17 January 2023, and a video of the incident was published by several news outlets at the time.
On 22 November 2023, a 22-second video clip was widely shared on social media, showing a luxury jeep being pelted with stones by a group of men. The caption claims that the video is of the PML-N leader, Ataullah Tarar being attacked by villagers after an unsuccessful speech in which attempted to win their votes for his party. The video was posted by various political fan pages, social media users, and news websites.
Fact or Fiction?
The claim is misleading, as the video shows Musa Elahi, the nephew of PTI leader Parvez Elahi, and not Ataullah Tarar. The incident took place in Gujarat on 17 January 2023, when Musa Elahi was attacked by locals after he tried to change the name of a government hospital in the area, according to a 17 January 2023 report from Geo News.
With a reverse image search of the key frames, Soch Fact Check found videos of the same incident published by Geo News, City 42 News, news website nakarkhana.com. On 17 January 2023, multiple videos of the same incident were was also shared by journalist Najam Wali Khan in a social media post (archive) with the following caption:
“یہ گجرات کا کوٹلہ ارب علی خان ہے اور گجرات کے لوگ چوہدری وجاہت کے بیٹے موسی الہی سے کیا سلوک کر رہے ہیں۔ یاد رہے کہ ابھی صرف اسمبلی تحلیل ہوئی ہے اور نگران وزیراعلٰی چوہدری پرویز الہی ہی ہیں۔ وہ کیسی سیاست، محبت اور طاقت جو اقتدار سے بندھی ہو؟”
“[translation] This is Gujrat’s Kotla Arab Ali Khan and look what the people of Gujrat are doing to Chaudhry Wajaht’s son Musa Elaji. Remember that only the assembly has been dissolved and the caretaker chief minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi. What politics, love or power is it if it is tied to authority?”
An article by Geo News also confirmed that PTI leader Parvez Elahi’s nephew, Musa Elahi, was attacked with bricks in Gujarat after an attempt to change the name of the government hospital in the area. The videos shared as a part of Geo News’ and City 42 News’ coverage of the incident are identical to the video shared in the claim under question, which leads us to believe that the video actually depicts an attack on Musa Elahi by the locals, and not Ataullah Tarar.
On 22 November 2023, Tarrar himself issued a clarification denying the claim.
Virality
The video claiming to show an attack on Ataullah Tarar by the locals in a village was shared widely on social media platforms. PTI fan page PTI Faisalabad Official’s post on X received more than 314,800 views, 420 likes and 288 reposts.
The claim was reposted on news website nakarkhana, Facebook (numerous times), Instagram (archive), Tiktok (archive) and Youtube (archive) where it was viewed thousands of times.
Conclusion: A video claiming to show an attack on the PML-N leader, Ataullah Tarar actually shows PTI’s Musa Elahi, who was attacked by the locals in Gujarat on 17 January 2023.
Background image in cover photo: Hamariweb
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