Claim: A video shows police opening fire on protesters and detaining one in Rawalakot in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in June 2026, with security vehicles and an ambulance visible nearby.
Fact: The video is not from Rawalakot; it actually shows police action against protesters during a demonstration near the US Consulate in Karachi over the killing of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
On 8 June 2026, Facebook user ‘حنیف الوہاب حقانی’ broadcast a “live” video showing police opening fire on protesters and detaining one of the participants — who is seen resisting — and beating him with sticks. Security vehicles and an Edhi ambulance are also visible at the start of the clip.
The broadcast is captioned as follows:
“اس ویڈیو کو اتنا شیئر کرو کہ دنیا کا ہر انسان اس ویڈیو کو دیکھ سکے یہ عوام کے محافظ ہیں ��
[Share this video so much that everyone in the world can see that these are the protectors of the people ��]”
Clashes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir
On 7 June 2026, severe deadly clashes erupted between law enforcement personnel and protesters in Rawalakot in Pakistan-administered Kashmir when crowds gathered outside the Combined Military Hospital (CMH).
The clashes occurred after police arrived at the location to disperse a sit-in protesting the death of an activist associated with the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which was designated as a proscribed organisation two days prior.
According to security officials and human rights reports, the ensuing clashes resulted in at least 11 deaths — consisting of protesters and police officers — alongside dozens of injuries.
Over 70, including 23 security officials and 50 protesters, were injured, police chief Liaqat Malik said.
The state-run Pakistan TV reported on 9 June that videos showing an alleged assault on the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) police personnel in Rawalakot on 7 June and the “desecration” of a deceased officer’s body had surfaced. It termed the incident a “preplanned attack”.
The same day, the AJK government ordered that “sedition charges be filed against [JAAC leader Shaukat Nawaz] Mir and another leader of the group, Mehran Arshad Khawaja, accusing them of inciting rebellion through speeches and online content”. It also announced a reward of PKR 10 million “for information leading to the arrest of four wanted members”.
According to a police statement, initial evidence indicated that “some of the five were in contact with ‘a hostile intelligence agency from a neighboring country’, without providing further details”.
The demonstrations originally took off against the 12 reserved seats in the legislature of Pakistan-administered Kashmir “for refugees from Indian-administered Kashmir who now live in other parts of Pakistan”. The JAAC has also demanded the abolition of these as they are not representative of actual residents of the region.
The AJK Supreme Court then ruled that those 12 reserved seats were constitutionally protected and an amendment was required to abolish them. Prior to that, the May 2026 talks between the JAAC and the government were unsuccessful.
The unrest escalated after the government deployed federal paramilitary forces ahead of a planned region-wide strike, said Amnesty International, which criticised the JAAC’s proscription in its statement as “disproportionate, unlawful, and a violation of the right to freedom of association”.
Amnesty also noted that authorities have targeted journalists reporting on the protests, with Sohrab Barkat arrested over alleged “defamation” and dissemination of “false and fake information”.
Alongside the arrest of over 100 members of the banned group, authorities suspended internet and mobile network signals and issued strict travel advisories restricting movement into the region until 27 July, when regional elections are scheduled. The JAAC’s head office was sealed by the AJK Police, according to the state-run Radio Pakistan.
Mir, the JAAC leader, termed the government actions “a massacre”, while Poonch sector commissioner Sardar Waheed Khan rejected the claim, terming it “misleading” and saying the state was trying to “restore law and order”.
Pakistan TV reported on 14 June that “armed individuals linked to the banned JAAC opened fire on an armoured vehicle during a police flag march in Rawalakot” and showed a video of armed men gathered at an unidentified location.
The state-run channel also reported on an alleged leaked recording between JAAC leader Sajid Azam, also the president of “Trade Union Thorar District Poonch”, and Hameed Kashmiri, a member of the banned group, discussing how they had “five hundred riflemen” ready and that they would demand to “vacate Rawalakot in two hours”.
Local officials reported mid-June that the main protest gatherings in Rawalakot had significantly dwindled, leading to a partial relaxation of curfew-like restrictions to allow for limited commercial hours.
On 18 June, AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore said Rawalakot was the “staging ground” of the JAAC’s “Campaign of Chaos” and that, from there, “they planned to march towards Muzaffarabad”.
“Even though the offer for negotiations still stands, we are not in [a] hurry (they should be) and the State will not capitulate. We’ll show flexibility to only those who want to de-escalate and want peace. We fully support the voices that demand fair rights, but we’ll never tolerate those who spread anarchy,” he added.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes from the viral video and found it to be unrelated to the June 2026 unrest in Rawalakot.
The video is actually from 1 March 2026 when primarily Shiite protesters, “enraged by the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in US and Israeli strikes”, stormed the US Consulate in Karachi, according to footage posted by The Associated Press (AP).
The exact scenes can also be seen at the 0:07 mark in a video posted on 3 March 2026 by Public News Karachi Bureau Chief Samar Abbas, who titled it as, “After US Consulate Karachi attack, SSP Keamari Amjad Sheikh and officers were removed for negligence”.
Matching visuals from the viral video (left) and the original (right) showing the March 2026 protest over the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
A Facebook video shared on 2 March 2026 includes the same scenes with the caption, “Pakistan: La police pakistanaise réprime les manifestations et les émeutes pro-iraniennes à Karachi. [Pakistan: Pakistani police crack down on pro-Iranian protests and riots in Karachi.]”
The words “Lalazar,” “Karachi Port,” “Kemari,” “Shersha,” and “Site Area” are visible on a guide sign positioned over the track in the video, confirming its location as Moulvi Tamizuddin (MT) Khan Road.
The words “Lalazar,” “Karachi Port,” “Kemari,” “Shersha,” and “Site Area” visible on the guide sign over MT Khan Road in Karachi
Moreover, at the 1:07 mark from Abbas’ YouTube video, a logo is visible on a roadside planter that we identified as that of Bahria Foundation, an organisation “engaged in diversified industrial, commercial and developmental activities”.
The Bahria Foundation’s logo visible on a roadside planter
The presence of the Bahria Foundation’s logo further corroborates the location as the organisation’s office is located at MT Khan Road, alongside other related buildings, such as Bahria Complexes 1, 2, and 3, as well as Bahria College.
At the 1:43 mark, Bahria Complexes 2 and 3 are visible, which can be seen in the Google Map embedded above.
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that the claim is false.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the video circulating with the false claim in multiple posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
The video was also shared on X (formerly Twitter) twice.
At least three Indian X users and two Indian YouTube channels also used the video in this false context.
A screengrab from the clip was also used in articles on multiple Indian websites, such as Lokmat Times, Newstrack, IBTimes India, The Hawk, IANS LIVE, and Connected to India.
Conclusion: The video is not from Rawalakot. It actually shows police action against protesters during a March 2026 demonstration near the US Consulate in Karachi over the killing of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Background image in cover photo: RawalakotCommunity
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