Old protest clip filmed in Pakistan-held Kashmir, not India

Published on June 5, 2025 at 10:54
3 min read
By Akshita KUMARI, AFP India

Old footage of people throwing stones at a convoy of vehicles has been misrepresented online as depicting Muslims attacking Indian paramilitary forces following the country's four-day conflict with Pakistan. There have been no official reports of any such incident and the clip was filmed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in May 2024.

"The video is said to be from Jammu and Kashmir," reads the Hindi-language caption to the video filmed from a serpentine mountain road.

"After ceasefire, as CRPF and CISF troops were returning from borders, Muslim traitors attacked their convoy with stones," adds the May 26, 2025 Facebook post, using the acronyms for paramilitary organisations functioning under India's Home Ministry (archived link).

"In response, the forces opened fire. Chaos ensued, in which nine stone pelters slipped and died. The army recorded the entire incident via drone. Several security vehicles were damaged."

Screenshot of the false post taken May 30, 2025

Similar posts also rocketed on X and Threads following the worst fighting between India and Pakistan in decades that brought the nuclear-armed rivals to the brink of war.

The crisis was triggered by an attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi accuses it neighbour of supporting. Islamabad denies the charge.

More than 70 people on both sides died in the four-day military confrontation that ensued, which ended with an unexpected ceasefire on May 10 (archived link).

AFP found no official reports the incident described in the false posts occurred following the crisis, and the circulating video has been misrepresented.

A reverse image search of keyframes found a longer version published on Facebook on May 15, 2024 (archived link).

"Kashmiris Pelting Stones At The Convoy Of Pakistani Security Forces In Pakistan Occupied Kashmir," reads its caption.

Screenshot comparison of the false post (L) and the video uploaded on Facebook

An AFP journalist watched the video and was able to identify the mountain pass as Lohar Gali in Pakistan-administered Kashmir's Muzaffarabad region.

Corresponding visuals on Google Maps confirm the location (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (L) and Google Street View imagery of the area with similarities highlighted by AFP

Pakistani news outlets Dawn and Geo News Urdu embedded similar visuals in reports about the incident (archived here and here).

According to Dawn newspaper, at least three civilians were killed and several others injured after a paramilitary force operating under the Pakistan Army opened fire at people protesting against rising prices of wheat-flour and inflated electricity bills (archived link).

AFP has debunked the barrage of misinformation around the recent South Asia crisis here.

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