Claim: An image shows a police officer wearing an ASI badge with severe head injuries after the recent skirmishes at Zaman Park, where PTI supporters attacked the police.
Fact: The image of a police officer with an ASI badge with severe head injuries is from 2021, when the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) supporters attacked the police.
On 19 March 2023, PMLN leader Hina Pervez Butt uploaded an image of a police officer with an ASI badge and severe head injuries. She captioned the image: “میں نیازی کو دہشتگرد یا شدت پسند نہ کہوں تو کیا کہوں؟؟؟ #TTPTI” (Translation: If I don’t call Niazi a terrorist or an extremist, what can I say??? #TTPTI). The Tweet, in which Butt is referring to Imran Khan, was posted rights after police and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) workers clashed at Zaman Park after law enforcement attempted to arrest the PTI chairman.
Fact or Fiction?
Through reverse image search tools Soch Fact Check found that this image was first shared on social media in October 2021, when four police officers were killed because of the violent protest staged by the far-right party, TLP.
Rao Sardar Ali Khan, inspector general of the Punjab police, said four officers were killed and at least 263 wounded, while speaking to Aljazeera.
Virality
Hina Pervez Butt’s tweet was viewed 110,900 times and gathered 1,965 interactions on Twitter.
Conclusion: The image of a police officer with severe head injuries is from 2021, not 2023.