Claim: Videos depict a fire across a region in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, showing how protests have escalated since governor’s rule was imposed.
Fact: The clip is from a fire that took place in Kursheed Chowk in the Kotri SITE area on 2 October 2026.
On 14 October 2026, Facebook user SGD PTI Network posted a 20 second clip of a fire and claimed it showed protests during governor’s rule in KP. The video was posted with an Urdu caption:
خیبر پختونخواہ سے تازہ ترین صورتحال 🚨
[Translation: Latest situation from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 🚨]
Screenshot from the viral Facebook post.
Governor’s rule imposed in KPK
On 11 October 2026, the federal government imposed an emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The development came after President Asif Ali Zardari gave his approval under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution, dealing with the proclamation of emergency in a province and imposition of governor’s rule in case of “failure of constitutional machinery” in a province, respectively.
Following the imposition of governor’s rule in KP, the federal government formed an 11-member technocratic KP Advisory Council to assist Governor Faisal Karim Kundi with taking charge of the province. Simultaneously, KPK Information Minister Shafi Jan and MNA Shahid Khattak took to their X accounts and claimed that Afridi had been arrested. A day later, on 12 October, Chaudhry confirmed to Reuters that Afridi and some of his cabinet members were in preventive custody. He further clarified that those facing criminal cases would be charged and tried while the rest will be released.
Several incidents of civil unrest followed, particularly between 13 and 14 October. Violent confrontations took place between demonstrators and law enforcement in regions like Bara Bazaar, Bajaur, Dir, Bannu, and Dera Ismail Khan. Media outlets reported on intense volatility with law enforcements deploying tear gas, baton charges, and live warning fire; some government buildings were also set ablaze. However, on 13 October, PEMRA issued a notification directing TV channels to refrain from airing any “unfortunate/unpleasant incidents such as explosion, blast, firing, terrorist attack etc”, warning that legal action would be taken if this directive is not followed.
Protests in KP also extended to the judiciary, as lawyers boycotted court proceedings in the Peshawar High Court, where the Khyber PakhtunKhwa Bar Council “expressed deep reservations over the emergency measures invoked under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution.”
On October 14, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan filed an instant petition in Peshawar High Court (PHC) “against the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.” The Court was urged to reinstore Afridi as the rightful Chief Minister of KP under Article 130 of the Constitution, and reinstate his Cabinet with full executive authority. The PHC set 20 October 2026 as the preliminary hearing of the petition.
On 20 October 2026, the Peshawar HIgh Court reviewed two separate petitions, the first petition was presented in front of a two-member bench consisting of Justices Ijaz Anwar and Muhammad Faheem Wali on the imposition of emergency and Governor’s rule in KP. The bench adjourned the hearing till 10 November 2026 after preliminary arguments. Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Farah Jamshed heard another the petition about the alleged unlawful arrest and disappearance of PTI lawmakers and ministers; the next hearing date has been fixed for 3 November 2026.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check ran the keyframe at 13 seconds from the Facebook video through a reverse-image search. Upon this search, social media posts were found dated between 1 to 8 October 2026, circulating news about a fire that took place along the National Highway in Kursheed Chowk in Kotri Site Area.
For further investigation, a side-by-side comparison was conducted between one of these videos and the Facebook video posted on 14 October. Based on observation, both frames hold the same visual consistency, as they have an identical setup including the electrical wires on the right-hand side and the tree. We can conclude that the video is from the Kursheed Chowk fire, which predates the protests in KP.
Left: Screenshot from Facebook video dated 8 October,2026.
Right: Screenshot from Facebook video dated 14 October, 2026.
We conducted a keyword search for “Kursheed Chowk fire,” “Kotri” “Peshawar protest fire” and “KP redzone” and found an Aaj News official broadcast video from 2 October 2026 titled “Jamshoro Fire Over 25 Shops & Stalls Burn Near Kotri Khursheed Chowk.” This confirms the video’s origin, and debunks any links to the ongoing protests in KP.
Screenshot of Aaj News Youtube official news channel
For further confirmation, we reached out to Lehaz Ali, a senior journalist for AFP who is currently reporting on the ground from Peshawar. He commented below when asked on the legitimacy of the clip:
“There is no evidence that this video belongs to Peshawar, as there has been no news of such an event taking place in this region in the past few days. Based on observation, in the video there is no sign or shop that presents this as KP, and no one is heard speaking in Pashto in the background as well. This video is not from Peshawar.”
Virality
The video was reshared the most by PTI supporters on Facebook, with the original post receiving 99K views and 4K likes.
On X, the video received over 9231 views and 715 likes.
Conclusion: The video being shared is not from the recent protests in KP, but from a fire that took place in Kursheed Chowk on 2 October 2026.
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