A video of a protest against the killing of members of the Hazara community by the Islamic State terrorists has been falsely shared by Radio Chinar and other social media users as a protest from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The protest actually took place in Ladakh’s Kargil and was led under the banner of the Jamiat-ul-Ulama Isna Asharia Kargil organisation.
CLAIM
The video was shared with the caption, “Thousands of locals in #Pakistan Occupied #Kashmir protested against the atrocities committed by Pak Army in #HazaraGenocide (sic),” by Radio Chinar with its over 12,000 followers, garnering over 16,100 views before being deleted.
The claim was also shared by other social media users, including Lt Gen Satish Dua.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
A keyword search of ‘Hazara killings protests’ led us to a YouTube video uploaded by Jammu and Kashmir’s local daily, Daily Excelsior, in which the protesters were carrying a banner identical to the one in the viral video.
A comparison of stills from the viral video and the YouTube video can be seen below.
According to the description of the video, the protest took place on 8 January, in Kargil, Ladakh and was organised by Anjuman Jamiyat Ullama Isna Ashriya Kargil (AJUIAK) Ladakh.
The name of the organisation is also written on the banner that the protesters are carrying.
We also found the organisation’s Facebook page where they had uploaded a photo from the protest on 9 January, stating that Jamiat-ul-Ulema in Kargil is against the massacre of 11 innocent miners belonging to the Shia Hazara community working in a coal mine at Machh in Quetta, Balochistan Province, Pakistan.
The protest procession started from Ashriya square and ended with a meeting there.
We also spoke to Sajjad Kargili, a Kashmir-based journalist and activist who confirmed that the video is from a protest staged in Kargil on 8 January.
On 9 January, according to a PTI report on The Wire, Islamic State terrorists abudcted and shot dead 11 miners from the Shia Hazara community in Mach area.
This incited protests by the minority community in Quetta who refused to bury the victims’ bodies till they were ensured justice and compensation. The protest ended when Prime Minister Imran Khan visited the protesters and promised compensation.
Evidently, a protest at Ladakh’s Kargil has been falsely shared as a protest in PoK.
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