An old video showing a woman reciting the Gayatri Mantra- a Hindu prayer in the presence of former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif has surfaced with false claims linking it to the swearing-in ceremony of Shehbaz Sharif as the country's Prime Minister.
BOOM found that the video is not from Shehbaz Sharif's swearing-in ceremony as the Prime Minister. The footage is from a Holi celebration that took place in Pakistan in 2017.
In the video, a woman recites the Gayatri Mantra on stage in front of Nawaz Sharif.
The video is being shared with the caption, "PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER’s SWEARING IN CEREMONY STARTING WITH “GAYATRI MAHA MANTRA” by smt. NARODA MALINI SAHIBA. Now Pakistan has officially recognised the importance & its recited in all functions."
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BOOM also received the same video on its WhatsApp tipline number (7700906588) with a request for verification.
Fact Check
BOOM ran a relevant keyword search and found multiple news bulletins from 2017 that reported about the video, mentioning that the event was from a Holi celebration in Pakistan.
On March 21, 2017, BBC Hindi published a video report on its official YouTube channel featuring the singer from the viral video, along with the caption, "Meet Narodha, Who sang Gayatri Mantra in Pakistan".
In the video report, Narodha Malni, the singer, recounted her experience of chanting the Gayatri Mantra in the presence of former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, during a Holi celebration in the country at that time.
We also found several Pakistani news articles from March 14, 2017, covering Nawaz Sharif's participation in Holi celebrations with the Hindu community in Pakistan.
An excerpt from Pakistani news outlet The Dawn published on March 14, 2014, reads, "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday delivered a progressive and inclusive message to minorities in the country, saying "no one can force others to adopt a certain religion". The prime minister’s remarks come at a time when the Sindh Assembly passed a landmark bill criminalising forced conversion of minority community members."
It further added that the event took place at a hotel in Karachi, where Sharif delivered the speech in observance of Holi, a traditional spring festival celebrated by Hindus.
Below is a news bulletin from Dunya News, covering the event on March 14, 2017.
A live footage from the swearing-in ceremony of Shehbaz Sharif can be seen below.