Claim: Video shows firing on protesters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah valley.
Fact: The claim is false. The video appeared on the internet as early as 23 July 2024, claiming to show violence at the Bannu peace rally when protesters were similarly fired upon. It is unrelated to the recent events in Tirah valley.
On 27 July, PTI’s KP President Junaid Akbar shared a video on X, writing: “وادی تیراہ میں امن مارچ میں نہتے قبائلی مشران و نوجوانوں اور معصوم بچوں پر فائرنگ کے نتیجے میں بچوں سمیت 7 بے گناہ افراد کو شہید اور متعدد زخمی ہوئے ہے۔ دوران جنگ بھی معصوم بچوں کو قتل کرنے کی اجازت کوئی مذہب، ریاست اور قانون نہیں دیتی۔
سوچئے اور غور کیجئے ریاست کے اس سے فعل سے دہشتگردی میں کمی آئے گی یا بڑھے گی؟
کیا حکمرانوں کو کوئی احساس ہے؟ کہ پشتونوں بلٹ اور ریاست کے درمیان دوریاں کس حد تک بڑھ رہی ہے؟”
[Translation: In the Tirah Valley, as a result of firing on an unarmed peace march of tribal elders, youth, and innocent children, seven innocent people — including children — were martyred and several others injured.
Even during war, no religion, state, or law permits the killing of innocent children.
Think and reflect — will this act by the state reduce terrorism or increase it?
Do the rulers have any awareness of how far the distance between the Pashtuns and the state has grown?]
PTI members Qasim Khan Suri and Murad Saeed also shared the video on their Instagram accounts here and here, respectively.
Protesters fired upon in the Tirah valley
On 27 July, protesters gathered outside the Frontier Corps (FC) compound where gunfire broke out as the crowd approached the gates, resulting in at least seven deaths and several injuries.
Earlier this week, two children lost their lives after a mortar shell struck Raghzai village in Tank district. In response, grieving families and residents staged a protest by blocking the Tank-South Waziristan Road, demanding swift identification and accountability for those responsible. According to Sohail Afridi, Special Assistant for KP Communications and Works, the protest outside the FC compound was sparked by a similar incident the day before, in which a young girl was killed when a mortar hit a house.
Afridi stated that there were conflicting claims about who opened fire; some district officials blamed militants from the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), referring to them as Fitna-al-Khawarij, while some protesters alleged that security forces at the gate fired at them.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack by the TTP and directed immediate medical assistance for the injured. He affirmed that terrorist actions would not weaken national resolve.
Following the incident, a jirga was held between civil and military officials, local elders, and Security Forces Commandant Brigadier Muhammad Qasim. The jirga, which alleged that the gunfire was carried out by security forces, strongly condemned the violence. They reaffirmed the people’s constitutional and democratic right to peaceful protest and emphasised that security forces have no right to fire on demonstrators. The commandant assured them of his full support in meeting their legitimate demands.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check found the claim suspicious, as several users claimed that the video is old. One X user also shared a screenshot of a post from July 2024 which featured the same video. In the screenshot, the post linked the video to an incident in Bannu as it was accompanied by the hashtag #BannuPeaceMarch.
A reverse-search of the video’s keyframes then revealed that it was shared online as early as 23 July 2024. An X account @ThePashtunTimes posted the video, writing: “BANNU: A viral video on social media showed children participating in a Peace Protest in Bannu last Friday where the Pakistan army opened straight fire, killing a young man and injuring 27, including several kids. @SavetheChildren @UNICEF #BannuPeaceMarch @NCRC_Pakistan @NCRC”
Soch Fact Check could not independently verify if the video is indeed from the Bannu peace march, as it was not shared by credible media outlets or elsewhere. However, a keyword search, using terms like “Bannu,” “peace march,” and “firing”, was conducted to verify if such an incident had happened or if any related news was reported.
The search results yielded a report by Dawn, published on 20 July 2024, titled “One killed, scores hurt as violence mars Bannu rally.” According to the article, one person was killed and over a dozen were injured in Bannu when gunfire caused a stampede at a peace rally that was attended by thousands. The rally was organised to demand security in the region, the news article added.
Eyewitnesses at the rally reported that tensions had risen when the crowd advanced toward the Bannu cantonment and set fire to tents erected by security forces. According to official sources, gunfire was first directed from a nearby area toward the tents, prompting security forces to return fire. During the resulting exchange and chaos, at least one person was killed and many others were injured, the report stated.
The viral video has only been linked to the Bannu peace march in the past, suggesting that it may be from that incident. However, we could not verify the fact. Nonetheless, Soch Fact Check can confirm that the video has nothing to do with the recent tragic events in Tirah since it predates the incident by a year.
Virality
The claim was shared here (archive) on Facebook.
The video was shared here, here, here, and here on Instagram. Archived here, here, here, and here.
On X, it was shared here, here, here, and here. Archived here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The claim is false. The footage dates back to at least July 2024, and, therefore, it cannot possibly depict the recent firing on demonstrators at Tirah valley.
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