A sensitive video of a group of people physically harassing a couple inside a room has been circulated on social media with the claim that Rana Sikandar Hayat, Education Minister in the Maryam Nawaz govt stripped a girl and raped her in front of the camera and presence of her partner because they participated in a protest against rape in Lahore university. However, D-Intent Data has discovered that the video was old. And unrelated to Rana Sikander Hayat and the rape case at Lahore University.
Sharing the video on X (Formerly Twitter) propagandist account, @RealBababanaras wrote. An incident has come to light from Pakistan which has shaken the entire world. In Pakistan’s Punjab province, Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat in the Maryam Nawaz government. Stripped a girl and raped her in front of the camera. The crime of that girl and her partner was that they had participated in the protest against the rape of a girl at Lahore University.
Another propaganda account @ajaychauhan41 has also disseminated the video and wrote. Horrifying scene. Rana Sikandar Hayat, Education Minister in Maryam Nawaz’s government in Pakistan’s Punjab province, went to a couple’s house and raped the women. The couple’s only crime was that they participated in a protest against the rape of a #Lahore PGC student.
Several other users, influencers and propagandists have also shared the video and made similar claims. Their posts can be seen here, @ag_Journalist, @AstroCounselKK, @NepCorres
The truth about the viral video, Fact Check
As soon as the posts containing the sensitive video and claims came to our notice. Subsequently, we conducted research and analysis of the video and found that the video was not related. But an old incident and unrelated to Rana Sikander Hayat and the protests against the recent rape case at the Lahore University in Pakistan.
To verify the claims made by the users. We performed a reverse image search of some key frames from the viral video on Google Lens. This led us to media reports containing the same visuals uploaded in July 2021. According to the media reports(1, 2) this incident occurred when a group of around seven people sexually harassed, tortured, and filmed a young couple at gunpoint in Islamabad’s E-11 area in July 2021.
As per the reports, all the accused were identified as Usman Mirza, Hafiz Ataur Rehman, Farhan Shaheen, Adaras Qayyum Butt, Rehan Hassan Mughal, Umar Bilal and Mohib Bangash. According to the Express Tribune, a sessions court in Islamabad has sentenced five convicts. Including prime accused Usman Mirza, in the E-11 couple sexual assault case to life imprisonment and fined them Rs200,000 each on the basis of digital evidence. However, the two accused, Umar Bilal Marwat and Rehan Hussain, were acquitted in March 2022.
Therefore, it is evident from D-Intent Data’s Fact Check that the video was not recent. But an old incident from Islamabad and unrelated to Rana Sikander Hayat and the protests against the recent rape case at Lahore University in Pakistan.
Intent
Social media users and influencers are circulating old videos with misleading claims to target politicians in Punjab, Pakistan.
Conclusion
Claim– Pakistan’s Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikander Hayat physically harassed a couple because they participated in a protest against a rape case at Lahore University.
Fact– The video is not recent but an old incident from 2021. Unrelated to Rana Sikander Hayat and the protests against the recent rape case at the Lahore University in Pakistan.
Related Article: Fact Check: Video of protest from India falsely linked to protest against Zakir Naik in Pakistan – D-Intent Data
