Old assault image falsely linked to Pakistan turmoil following Imran Khan arrest
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on June 19, 2023 at 11:31
- 3 min read
- By Rimal FARRUKH, AFP Pakistan
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Warning: graphic image
"Pakistan under fascism, PTI woman worker assaulted by police officer under custody after 9 May incident," reads the caption to the image shared on Twitter on May 27, 2023.
"Many are under pressure and ordered for leaving PTI," it adds using the popular acronym for Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
Khan -- still staggeringly popular after being ousted last year -- was manhandled into custody on graft charges by paramilitary Rangers during a routine appearance at Islamabad High Court on May 9.
His three-day detention sparked violence and thousands of arrests, with some facing trial by military courts, a process condemned by local and international rights groups.
The turmoil also led to the resignations of much of the PTI's leadership, which have left Khan increasingly isolated at his home in the eastern city of Lahore, from where he ventures out only for court appearances.
Similar posts have been retweeted over 1,200 times here and here.
PTI leaders including Khan have reportedly alleged that imprisoned women PTI protesters are facing "inhumane conditions including sexual abuse" in prisons. This has been denied by the police.
A government-led committee and the National Commission for Human Rights have said they have not found evidence supporting claims of torture and sexual assault against women PTI prisoners.
Misused photo
A reverse image search also found the image shared in an Urdu-language Twitter thread posted on March 5, 2021 (archived link).
The thread says the image shows an incident of violence against a transgender woman dancer named Wafa Khan from the northwestern city of Peshawar that year.
It adds the perpetrator was a man named Mansoor Khan who had invited her to perform for him .
Peshawar city police responded to the same thread that "immediate action was taken against the named accused in the incident of violence on dancing girl Wafa" (archived link).
On March 6, 2021, the verified Facebook page of the Peshawar police announced arrests in relation to the case.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the image shared in the false posts (left) and the photo posted on Twitter in 2021:
Local media also reported on the incident here and here (archived links here and here).
Fact-check organisation FactCrescendo had earlier debunked posts claiming the image was taken in Afghanistan and Iran (archived links here and here).
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