Fact Check: Old video from Afghanistan passed off as Pakistan’s atrocities in Balochistan

A video of an armoured vehicle chasing a crowd and then turning back and fleeing after facing public wrath is circulating on social media, with the claim that this is how Pakistani security forces commit gross abuses in Balochistan.

A video of an armoured vehicle chasing a crowd and then turning back and leaving after facing public wrath is circulating on social media saying that this is how Pakistan security forces conduct gross abuses in Balochistan.

The 30-second video shows stones and empty plastic canisters flying towards the armoured vehicle as some people try to escape. The vehicle, having made a circle in the centre of a square, halts and then leaves the area.

The video has been posted on Twitter with a Hindi caption that translates to, “If Pakistan continues to torture the people of Balochistan like this, then the day is not far off when Pakistan will break again. #StopKillingBalochs”.

The archived version of the post can be seen here.

But though gross human rights violations by Pakistani forces in Balochistan have been reported regularly, India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that this video is from Afghanistan. In December 2020, this video surfaced on social media showing a US-made armoured vehicle facing the wrath of local Afghans.

With the help of InVID tool and reverse image search, we found the truth behind the viral video.

In December 2020, a YouTuber had uploaded this video with a title in Spanish that Google translates to, “Vehicles of US invaders stoned in Afghanistan”. The same video was also tweeted by other users during the same time.