Footage has emerged of Pakistani police protests following deadly militant attacks, falsely claiming it is of a demonstration demanding the release of politician Sher Afzal Marwat. He is considered one of the leaders of Pakistan’s opposition party and was arrested after a rally on September 8. However, the protest was met with police violence in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“The tribe of Sher Afzal Khan Marwat has started a protest in Lakki Marwat against the arrest of Afzal Khan Marwat,” read an Urdu language X-message from September 9th.
The post, which has been shared 10,000 times, shows a video showing a large group of people.
Marwat, a lawmaker from the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, was arrested on September 9, a day after a large rally in the capital Islamabad (archived link).
He and nine other members of parliamentthe Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of Rom Khan were charged under a new protest law and the anti-terrorism law.
The anti-terrorism court granted them bail of 30,000 rupees (US$100).
They were accused of violating the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, which was passed days before the rally. Human rights groups said the move was an attempt to curtail freedom of expression and peaceful protest.
PTI has been facing a massive crackdown since Khan was jailed in August last year on a series of charges he alleges are politically motivated and aimed at keeping him from power.