Claim: Several social media users claimed that the dead body of one of the students involved in the Sarhad University incident was found near a hilly area in Islamabad. These claims cite journalist Asad Toor as their source of information.
Fact: Toor denied reporting on any such death.
On 27 August 2026, a Facebook account named Gilgit Baltistan shared a post mentioning journalist Asad Toor, and claimed that he has reported on the death of a student who “grabbed the Colonel by his neck,” seemingly making a reference to the altercation between the students of Sarhad University and an army officer on 24 August.
The caption reads:
بریکنگ نیوز”
جو آگ بلوچستان خیبر گلگت کشمیر میں لگی تھی وہ اسلام آباد تک پہنچ چکی۔۔
جس نے کرنل کی گردن پہ ہاتھ ڈالا تھا وہ اللہ کو پیارا ہو گیا اس سٹوڈنٹ کی لاش اسلام اباد کی ہلز پہاڑیوں میں ملی
“صحافی اسد طور کا دعویٰ_
[Translation: “Breaking News
The fire that had ignited in Balochistan, Khyber, Gilgit, and Kashmir has now reached Islamabad.
The student who had laid hands on a colonel’s neck has passed away; his body was found in the hills of Islamabad.
Claim made by journalist Asad Toor.”]
Soch Fact Check only aims to verify if Toor has made such a claim or not.
What happened at Sarhad University?
On 24 August 2026, an army officer fired shots in the air during a heated argument with students at Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology (SUSIT), Islamabad. Several verified and unverified videos of the incident have since gone viral.
A BBC Urdu quoted Assistant Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Hamza Humayun stating that the army officer has been taken into protective custody and there is a strong possibility of a summary court martial trial against him. He also mentioned that the detained individual is an army officer of the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
According to the publication, the students were holding a protest against the Director of Human Resources (HR), who is also the wife of the army officer involved in the incident. Quoting local police, BBC Urdu reported that she filed a harassment complaint against a head of department, following a dispute between the two over a departmental issue, after which he was suspended from the university.
Sawan Circle SP told the news outlet that the HR Director also lodged a complaint against the professor at a local police station, which she took back after he gave an apology in writing. Soch Fact Check has not been able to independently verify these reports.
Voicepk quoted students saying that the HOD is a “respected faculty member”, which is why they were protesting in favor of his reinstatement, as they alleged that a false complaint had been made against him. An administration official told BBC Urdu that the HR Director was headed towards her office when some students “started shouting” at her, which is when she called her husband – the military officer in the viral video – who then got into an altercation with the protesting students.
BBC Urdu also quoted an anonymous federal police official stating that the matter has been made part of the official government record because a legal document is required for departmental action against a military officer.
Dawn also reported on 24 August that a security official was in custody and facing disciplinary action under military law following a scuffle at the university. The report cited sources involved in the investigation.
Soch Fact Check has not independently verified any of the above reports, this article only fact-checks claims that the DG ISPR gave a press conference addressing the incident.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check first checked Toor’s social media accounts to see if he had reported any deaths related to the altercation between students of Sarhad University and an army officer, but didn’t find anything.
The journalist posted a video about the incident on his YouTube channel on 24 August where he only shared initial details about the incident. He didn’t make any claims about a student’s body being found near a hilly area in Islamabad.
On 27 August, Toor posted a screenshot of the claim on his X account and wrote in his caption:
“FAKE NEWS, I haven’t reported anything like this, nor even indirectly. Who so ever attributing this to me is spreading fake news using my name!”
Journalist Asad Toor denied making any such claims about a student’s death on 27 August 2026.
Soch Fact Check also reached out to Toor separately. He mentioned his X post, and insisted users to stop spreading fake news. “It can put my life and liberty in risk too,” he added.
Toor’s post on X and comment confirmed that he did not report on any student’s death related to the altercation at Sarhad University.
Virality
Soch Fact Check first came across a viral post on Facebook with as many as 1,000 likes and 449 shares. The claim received more views after it garnered 3,500 and 934 likes via separate posts on the platform.
Conclusion: The claim about journalist Asad Toor reporting on the death of a student involved in the altercation with an army officer at Sarhad University is fake. Toor categorically denied making any such claims.
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com