Claim: Chief of Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir awarded medals to Pakistani soldiers for ranking first among 20 countries.
Fact: The video shows the army chief, as a chief guest, awarding medals to soldiers from different countries, not just to Pakistani soldiers.
A Facebook user shared a video (archive) that claims to show Asim Munir, the chief of the army staff, giving medals to Pakistani soldiers for being the best army among 20 countries. The text superimposed on the video states [Translation]: “Pakistan is first in the armies of 20 countries. The Chief of Army Staff gave medals to Pakistani soldiers (to mark this achievement). Long live the Pakistan Army. Long live Pakistan.”
Fact or Fiction?
Reverse-searching keyframes from the video revealed that it is of the Pakistan army chief attending the closing ceremony of a military exercise as the chief guest. It shows him awarding medals to soldiers from different countries and not just Pakistani soldiers.
On 29 February 2024, X handle of local publication “@siasatpk” posted a video (archive) with the description “The 7th Pakistan Army Team Spirit (PATS) Exercise-2024 was concluded at Kharian Garrison. COAS General Syed Asim Munir graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.” Scenes from this footage at timestamps 1:14, 0:01, and 0:02 match the three scenes from the footage in the claim in that order.
Urdu News also shared a longer video on Facebook on 29 February 2024. The description, translated from Urdu using Google Translate, states: “The 7th Pakistan Army Team Spirit Exercise 2024 closing ceremony was held at Kharian Cantt with Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir as the chief guest. According to a press release by the ISPR on Thursday, the 60-hour rigorous ‘patrolling exercise’ aimed to enhance combat skills.” Scenes from this footage also match those from the video in the claim.
According to both Siasat.pk and Urdu News, the video in question shows the closing ceremony of The 7th Pakistan Army Team Spirit (PATS) Exercise 2024, a military exercise aimed at boosting the combat skills of soldiers who appear to be from different countries.
Taking cues from Urdu News‘s description, which mentioned a press release, Soch Fact Check reviewed the statement from the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), a media wing of the Pakistan Army.
Soldiers from at least 12 countries participated in this military exercise to learn combat skills mutually, in February 2024, according to the press release by the ISPR. It does not mention that the army chief awarded medals only to soldiers of the Pakistan Army for ranking first among 20 countries. Instead, it clearly states, “International observers and Defence Attachés of participating countries also attended the ceremony and appreciated its professional conduct.”
Therefore, the claim is false. The video does not show Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir awarding medals to Pakistani soldiers for being the best among 20 countries.
Virality
The Facebook video was shared 3,400 times and liked 40,300 times.
On YouTube, the video appeared here and here.
Conclusion: The video does not show General Asim Munir awarding medals to Pakistani soldiers for topping the army rankings among 20 countries. It is from the closing ceremony of The 7th Pakistan Army Team Spirit (PATS) Exercise 2024, when he awarded medals to soldiers from different countries for participating in a military exercise to enhance combat skills.
Background image in cover photo: Arab News
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