Old photo of tear gas shells falsely linked to Imran Khan clashes
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on March 21, 2023 at 09:53
- Updated on March 21, 2023 at 10:56
- 4 min read
- By AFP Pakistan
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The photo was published here on Facebook on March 15 after violent clashes erupted between Khan's supporters and police as he remained holed up at home, defying attempts to arrest him.
It was shared by a fan account of Zartaj Gul Wazir, a leader of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, and has 76,000 Facebook followers.
The post's Urdu-language caption translates to English as: “From Zaman Park today. The public remained steadfast despite so many (tear) gas shells. What had Imran Khan done???”
Khan was ousted from office by a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and has been snarled in a series of legal cases as he campaigns for early elections and a return to office.
Zaman Park refers to his residence in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, where his supporters fought pitched battles with police sent to arrest him in March this year.
The siege ended after he promised to appear in court and the arrest warrant for graft charges was suspended.
The same photo was shared alongside a similar claim here, here and here on Facebook; and here, here and here on Twitter.
Yasmin Rashid, a close aide of Khan and a former provincial health minister, also tweeted the photo in a collage to highlight the police crackdown against Khan's supporters in Lahore.
Many Facebook and Twitter users appeared to believe the claim about the photo was true.
“You will reap what you will sow,” wrote one Facebook user, implying that the ruling party will face the same treatment from the opposition if it falls from power in the future.
“May Allah destroy this government,” wrote another Twitter user.
Islamist rally
Although police did use tear gas to disperse Khan's supporters who were not allowing officers to arrest him on March 14 and 15, a Google reverse image search found the photo was taken at a November 2020 Islamist rally in Islamabad.
The rally and a sit-in were organised by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan to press the Pakistani government to expel the French ambassador from the country over the publication of blasphemous sketches of Prophet Mohammed, local newspapers The News and Dawn reported here and here.
A very similar image of the same scene was published online by Alamy photo agency here on November 16, 2020.
The photo's caption reads: "Activists of Tehreek e Labik (Labbaik) Pakistan (TLP) are holding protest demonstration against publication of blasphemous sketches of the Prophet Mohammed."
It labels the photo: "Islamabad, Pakistan. 16th Nov, 2020."
Below is a screenshot comparison between the photo in the false post (left) and the Alamy photo (right) with similarities highlighted in green circled by AFP:
Another screenshot comparison is shown below that highlights a green vehicle parked near the pile of tear gas shells in both photos:
Pakistani newspaper Daily Times and Indian news outlet Republic World published reports about the November 2020 protest in Islamabad here and here.
A video of the Islamist rally posted here on Twitter also shows that these teargas shells were displayed by TLP activists after police fired those at them.
At its 30-second mark, the video shows a young activist dressed in a TLP headband standing beside the tear gas shells.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (left) and the Twitter video (right):
An AFP photographer took this photo of tear gas shells from the same November 16, 2020 protest.
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