Claim: A video shows a man accusing soldiers of the Pakistan Army of assaulting his daughter.
Fact: The claim is false. The video shows a political activist from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Ghazi Shehzad, recounting a story he heard from a fellow inmate while imprisoned at Central Jail Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir. The alleged perpetrators mentioned by Shehzad were likely Indian soldiers.
Recently, a pro-PTI Facebook page shared a video (archive) with the following caption:
“یک مہینے بعد میری بیٹی کی شادی تھی، میری بیٹی کو پاکستان فوج والے اُٹھا کر کیمپ میں لے گئے، میں ایک باپ ہوں اور شاید آپ کو سمجھ نہیں آرہی، میرے سامنے میری بیٹی کے ساتھ بیس فوجیوں نے غلط کیا میں نے یہ سب کچھ دیکھنے کے بعد کہا کہ مجھے پھانسی دے دو، میں اب گھر نہیں جانا چاہتا، تم وردی والے اگر سمجھتے ہو کہ قیامت کے دن تم لوگ جنت میں داخل ہو گے تو یہ تمہاری بھول ہے، یہ باپ تمہارا گریبان پکڑ کر کھڑا ہو گا ، را ہو گا ، ۔۔۔ بتاؤ یہ کرنے والے تم کون ہو ؟؟؟؟”
[Translation: My daughter was supposed to get married in a month. The Pakistani army took my daughter and took her to a camp. I am a father, and perhaps you do not understand. In front of me, twenty soldiers did wrong to my daughter. After witnessing all of this, I said, ‘Hang me now. I do not want to go home anymore.’
You men in uniform, if you think that on the Day of Judgment you will enter paradise, then you are mistaken. This father will stand before you, holding you accountable. Tell me, who are you to do this?]
Recent discontent against the Pakistan Army
Following his arrest in May 2023, tensions between former Prime Minister Imran Khan and the military escalated, according to the BBC. His supporters responded with widespread protests, particularly targeting army buildings, signaling their growing discontent with the military.
The 2024 general elections in Pakistan were marred by allegations of unprecedented rigging, with the military playing a heavy-handed role in shaping the outcome, reported France 24. Imran Khan’s PTI was barred from using its cricket bat symbol, forcing its candidates to run as independents, and yet they performed strongly. Despite expectations of a clear win for the military-backed PML-N, Nawaz Sharif was forced to seek a coalition government.
The military’s growing influence over politics and the economy, particularly through the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), signals a shift from Pakistan’s traditional “hybrid regime” towards a deeper military entrenchment in governance. Additionally, Khan’s imprisonment and legal troubles, widely seen as politically motivated, reflect the military’s continued suppression of dissent.
Following the elections, analysts warned of a turbulent period ahead, with a fragmented parliament and unresolved power struggles between civilian leaders and the military, with the latter as the dominant force in the country’s politics.
Fact or Fiction?
While the caption of the viral posts mentioned the Pakistan Army, the speaker in the video did not refer to the Pakistan Army at any point. To determine the context, we reverse-searched its keyframes to locate the full version of the clip.
Soch Fact Check found an extended version (archive) of the clip, filmed from a different angle, shared on Facebook as early as 1 July 2024. It was captioned: “غازی شہزاد کی ایک تقریر کو لیکر قوم پرست طبقہ ہمیشہ کی طرح پراپیگنڈا کر رہا ہے جس میں یہ باور کرانے کی کوشش کی جارہی ہے کہ غازی شہزاد نے اپنی بیٹی کا فوجیوں کے ہاتھوں ریپ کا ذکر کیا ہے جبکہ تقریر کا مکمل حصہ سنیں تو واضع پتا چلتا ہے کہ وہ مقبوضہ کشمیر جیل کے ایک ساتھی کا واقعہ ذکر کر رہے ہیں جس میں اس کی بیٹی کو ہندوستانی فوجیوں نے ریپ کا نشانہ بنایا
آج تک یہ سمجھ نہیں لگ سکی جو قوم پرست خود کو حق پسند آزادی پسند کہتے ہیں وہ ہمیشہ پاکستان کو ہندوستان سے ملانے کی کوششیں کیوں کرتے رہتے ہیں یہی غلط تاثر دینے کی کوشش غازی شہزاد کی اس تقریر کا کلپ کاٹ کر کی گئی ہے”
[Translation: The nationalist faction, as always, is spreading propaganda over a speech by Ghazi Shehzad, attempting to make it seem as though he mentioned his own daughter being raped by soldiers. However, if one listens to the full speech, it becomes clear that he was actually recounting an incident involving a fellow inmate in an occupied Kashmir prison, whose daughter was raped by Indian soldiers.
To this day, it remains unclear why those nationalists who claim to stand for truth and freedom always try to equate Pakistan with India. This same misleading impression has been created by selectively cutting a clip from Ghazi Shehzad’s speech. ]
While we could not find any posts dating back to July 2024, the caption suggests that the claim has been circulating in the same context since then.
The man in the video is Ghazi Shehzad, a political activist from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
In the video, Shehzad narrated the story of a prisoner in Central Jail Srinagar, located in Indian-administered Kashmir. According to Shehzad, the prisoner claimed that soldiers had sexually assaulted his daughter. However, at no point in his narration does Shehzad attribute the incident to the Pakistan Army.
Instead, he narrated, “I was in Srinagar Jail when Mr Gilani was arrested. Let me tell you an incident. You have to listen to me by keeping your faith in front of you.
I was arrested in Central Jail Srinagar. Mr Gilani was brought in. There were other people with him. I also came to see him. He was martyred. May Allah elevate his status. There was another person with him. When I asked him what he was doing, he said, your daughters come back from the camp. And he stood up after saying a few strong words … he (Mr Gilani) said, ‘When the army arrested me last month, they took me to the camp. The Major took my daughter along with the company. My daughter was getting married a month later. I was kept in the camp. They took my daughter and brought her to the camp. I am a father, a father. We are the victims. Maybe you cannot hear us. I am a father. My daughter was wronged by 20 soldiers. They shifted me from there and sent me to jail. I said to the jailer, give me the punishment of hanging. My daughter was getting married a month later. She used to call me Baba. Baba cannot show his face to her now. Give me the punishment of hanging or give me the punishment of life imprisonment. I do not want to go home.”
Ghazi Shehzad played a critical role in the jailbreak in Rawalakot in June 2024, according to Dawn News. On 30 June 2024, over 20 inmates escaped from Rawalakot District Jail after taking police personnel hostage, reported ARY News. The prisoners, including dangerous criminals, opened fire on officers, injuring one inmate who was later arrested. The report further stated that a shootout on the city’s outskirts left one inmate dead. Most escapees were serving life sentences or facing the death penalty.
Dawn News reporter Nasir Rafiq Chaudhary stated that Shehzad had lived in Indian-administered Kashmir, where he was actively involved with the Mujahideen and was imprisoned for nearly 10 years. After his release, he moved to Pakistan, the report added.
Virality
The claim was shared here, here, here, and here on Facebook. Archived here, here, here, and here.
On X, it was shared here, here, and here. Archived here, here, and here.
It was shared here on Instagram.
Conclusion: The claim that Ghazi Shehzad accused the Pakistan Army of assaulting his daughter is false. A review of the full video confirms that he was recounting a story he heard from a fellow inmate at Central Jail Srinagar, in Indian-administered Kashmir. The alleged perpetrators mentioned by Shehzad were likely Indian soldiers.
–
Background image in cover photo: PakObserver
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com