A video of people protesting in Kargil, India, against the recent Hazara killings in Mach area of Balochistan, is viral on social media with claims that it shows demonstrations in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) against the Pakistan Army for inflicting violence on the community.
The video has been tweeted several times with the caption, "Thousands of locals in #Pakistan occupied #Kashmir protested against the atrocities & human rights violations committed for decades on it own people by Pakistan Army. Is this the beginning of the end of Pakistan, the Garrison State?" Click here for an archive of the tweet.
The video was earlier tweeted by Radio Chinar, a Kashmir based news outlet, with the same narrative. It has since been deleted. Click here for an archive.
The video is viral in the backdrop of the death of eleven coal miners from the Shiite Hazara community, who were kidnapped and killed by the extremist organisation Islamic State on January 3, 2021. The community began demonstrating and refused to bury the bodies of the deceased in an act of protest. Prime Minister Imran Khan visited a delegation of the Hazaras and Shiite leaders in Quetta and assured a compensation for the dead on January 10, following which the protest ended.
Fact Check
BOOM ran a keyword search on YouTube and found a video of the protest uploaded on the platform on January 8, 2021 by Jammu and Kashmir's local daily, Daily Excelsior . Protesters can be seen carrying the same banner as in the viral video.
The video has been titled as, Kargil: Massive Protest Against Hazaras' Killing In Pakistan. According to the description, the rally was held in Kargil to protest the death of 11 Hazara Shia community members. The protest rally was organized under the banner of Anjuman Jamiyat Ullama Isna Ashriya Kargil (AJUIAK) Ladakh, starting of Isna Ashriya square passing through Khomeni Chowk, Lal Chowk concluding at Isna Ashriya square in which hundreds of people participated.
Upon further keyword search we found the entire protest footage uploaded on the Anjuman Jamiat ul Ulama Isna Asharia Kargil-Ladakh (AJUIAK) channel of YouTube.
The same clip can be seen from 3 minute 18 second mark.
The AJUIAK uploaded images from the protest rally on its Facebook page and stated that the organisation was in solidarity with the Hazara community which lost 11 lives in the massacre.
The same video was tweeted by Kashmir-based journalist Sajjad Kargili.
