Footage of assault predates latest India-Pakistan conflict

"A Pakistani woman asked for proof of the strikes on India. In response, Pakistani men beat her and tore her clothes," reads a Hindi-language X post shared May 14, 2025.

The video attached to the post, which has more than 760,000 views, appears to show a group of men hitting a woman as they drag her towards a parked vehicle.

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Screenshot of the false X post captured May 19, 2025

The video circulated days after New Delhi and Islamabad agreed to a ceasefire, bringing a halt to four days of intense fighting that left more than 70 people dead on both sides (archived link).

The fighting, the worst between the neighbours in decades, came two weeks after an attack that killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir, which New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing.

Pakistan firmly denied any involvement and called for an independent investigation. 

But the circulating video, which also spread in similar Facebook and Instagram posts, predates the latest conflict between the arch-rivals.

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to the same footage posted April 24 by Pakistani news outlet Daily Taas on Facebook (archived link).

Its Urdu-language caption reads in part: "Influential men in Vehari assaulted a transgender woman, Shahzad alias Shahzadi, and tried to force her into a car after she rejected their advances. They fled after she resisted and screamed, prompting them to open fire. A case was registered at Daniwal police station."

Vehari is a town in Pakistan's Punjab province.

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Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (L) and the video posted by Daily Taas

Daily Taas included a copy of the victim's statement to police in a comment to the post.

The victim said they were drinking tea at a hotel on April 23 when several cars, including the white vehicle shown in the video, pulled up.

"The men inside tried to force me to go with them. They assaulted me and attempted to drag me into the car. One of them threatened me, saying, 'Befriend me, or we will deal with you."

AFP confirmed with local police that the victim's statement included in the Facebook post is genuine.

Vehari police official Farazul Haq also told AFP on May 15: "Five people were arrested on April 23, and two of them have been sent to jail on charges of attempted kidnapping and beating up a transgender person." 

He added that three people were "released after a compromise with the complainant".

Local media outlets also covered the incident (archived here and here).

AFP has debunked a flurry of misinformation stemming from the conflict between India and Pakistan here.

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