‘Jihadis’ pelting stone at paramilitary convoy in Kashmir after India-Pak ceasefire? Old video, false claim

A video in which a group of people are seen throwing stones at vehicles passing through a valley has been doing the rounds on social media. Sounds of gunshots are also heard in the background amidst cries of ‘मारो-मारो’ (Hit them). Social media users are sharing the video and claiming that following the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, CRPF and CISF convoys were returning to Jammu & Kashmir when ‘jihadis’ started pelting stones at them. It has also been claimed that security forces were forced to to fire in the air, during which a stampede occurred and nine stone pelters purportedly died after slipping and falling down the slopes. 

X handle @maheshyagyasain, which identifies itself as a ‘fan of Godse’, made a similar claim while sharing the video. (Archived link)

X User @sanatani_6, who has been found sharing misinformation on several occasions in the past, and numerous other X users also shared the videos with similar claims. (Archived link 1, link 2)

Same Video, Different Claims

We found that a Facebook page named Utishtha Bharata had shared the same footage targeting the Muslim community. The caption says, “Jihadis pelted stones on a convoy going to visit Vaishno Devi”. (Archived link)

X users Amitabh Chaudhary, who have been known to amplify communal propaganda and misinformation, and BJP supporter KV Iyyar also shared the video claiming it showed people in PoK ‘welcoming’ Pakistan army personnel. (Archived link 2, link 3)

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Fact Check

We performed a reverse image search on a few frames taken from the viral video. We found the source video uploaded on a Facebook page named Indian Military Updates – IMU on May 15, 2024. In other words, this video is more than a year old. The caption states that it shows Kashmiris pelting stones at a convoy of Pakistani security forces in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

Along with this, we came across another similar video on the same Facebook page, which stated that Kashmiris pelted stones at vehicles carrying Pakistani security forces (Rangers) in Pakistan occupied Kashmir’s Muzaffarabad.

Using this information as a clue, Alt News performed a keyword search. This led us to a report by Al Jazeera published on May 14, 2024, which talks about a protest rally by a group called Jammu Kashmir Joint Awaami Action Committee (JAAC), which had been marching towards Muzaffarabad in PoK since May 11, demanding subsidised flour and electricity, among other things.

“Our protesters were completely peaceful but the government’s decision to call in rangers meant that they wanted to use force against us, and now we see that three people were killed,” JAAC Chairman Shaukat Nawaz Mir told Al Jazeera.

India Today and The Free Press Journal also reported that protests against the rising prices of food, fuel, and electricity in PoK intensified and slogans of azadi (freedom) were raised.

We also found a report on the official YouTube channel of Pakistani media outlet Dawn News titled, “Video of stone pelting on Rangers from hills in Azad Kashmir.”

In May 2024, a user on reddit.com shared the same video identifying Lohar Gali as the location where the stone-pelting occurred.

We searched for Lohar Gali, Muzaffarabad on Google Maps to verify the location. This led us to a view of a winding road similar to the one seen in the viral video as well as a Street View snapshot near a bridge constructed over flowing waters. This makes it clear that the incident is indeed from Lohar Gali, Muzaffarabad in PoK.

To sum it up, a one-year-old video of stone pelting on vehicles belonging to Pakistani security forces (Rangers) by protesters in Muzaffarabad, PoK, was falsely circulated with several misleading claims.