In Pakistan, the political situation in the country is said to be increasingly serious. At least that’s what we learn from several Facebook posts, all published on May 10. They show images of a large, compact crowd advancing towards many helmeted men, who appear to be soldiers. The accompanying text explains: “The demonstrators are arming themselves now. An entire arms store was ransacked and people took all the weapons and bullets in response to the direct fire from the security forces on the protesters”.
Also according to the publication, the army would have been deployed “for full martial law” and the Internet would have been cut off. Except that the images in question were never filmed in Pakistan. 20 minutes tell you more.
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The video shared on Facebook originally came from a TikTok account from a user named “zaherkhan2833”. On his account, we find many publications around Pakistan, but also in support of the former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, imprisoned then released in May. We will come back to it.
We must first ask ourselves about the origin of this video. Using a reverse image search, we can find his trace. On Facebook – always – the same video had been published on January 17, 2021. In addition to being backdated, the images were not shot in Pakistan, but in Guatemala. “Two groups of migrants came together and tried by force to break the security cordon at km 177 of Vado Hondo, Chiquimula. Several injured, migrants and members of the army are reported,” the publication writes.
According to a dispatch published the same day by The Express, we understand the context a little better. The images showed thousands of Honduran migrants stranded at the border with Guatemala hoping to reach the United States later. The migrants were then driven back with tear gas and truncheons by the police and soldiers.
“Everything is being liquidated”
What about the situation in Pakistan? The country is currently undergoing both a political and economic crisis. On May 9, the day before the videos of protesters were published, former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested for alleged corruption. Very popular in the country, his arrest triggered a wave of indignation, and even violent clashes which left at least nine people dead. Many public and military buildings were ransacked.
Finally, three days later – on May 12 – the man was released, but his legal troubles are probably not over. As for the evocation of martial law in Pakistan, it is confusing. Martial law is not established in the country, but it is feared, in particular by the former Prime Minister.
In an interview given in the world, when the journalist asked him about his fear of being brought before a military tribunal again this time, the former Prime Minister replied: “If military tribunals are set up, that means that the country is under the blow of martial law because no legislation authorizes military courts to try civilians. I don’t know if this hypothesis will happen, but what is certain is that our democratic system, our Constitution, everything is being liquidated”.