Driver who trampled 2 pro-Palestine protesters in Islamabad is a military member

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team has checked this content and established that it is true.

To arrive at this verdict, the team checked investigated the information available about the identity of the driver who crushed two pro-Palestine protesters in Islamabad.

HOW IT STARTED

On May 21, 2024, iVerify Pakistan was alerted by the public about an X post claiming, “Just read the news that the person who crushed two people two days ago in D-Chowk has been arrested. The accused turned out to be a soldier of Pakistan Army!!”

The user who shared the claim appeared to be a PTI supporter based on his past posts. The post was seen by more than 23,000 people.

METHODOLOGY

The iVerify Pakistan sought to determine the veracity of the claim to satisfy the public’s query seeking authentication, due to its virality and because of the serious nature of the allegation involving the Pakistan Army.

To investigate the claim, the iVerify Pakistan team conducted a keyword search for “Islamabad protest”, “accident” and “Pakistan Army” and found various news stories published by different news outlets corroborating the claim.

The first story the team found was published by leading English news outlet Dawn on May 25 with the headline, “Driver handed over to Military Police after ‘Save Gaza’ accident in Islamabad”.

According to the story, on May 20, a Pakistan Army lieutenant driving a car that crushed two pro-Palestine protesters to death and injured four others at Jinnah Avenue in Islamabad was handed over to the Military Police for legal proceedings.

The incident involved the vehicle running over sleeping protest participants. A case was registered against the driver under multiple sections of the Pakistan Penal Code.

“Police spokesperson Taqi Jawad said the driver was a lieutenant in the army and the son of a brigadier. He was handed over to the MP for further legal action, the spokesperson said, adding that the senior army officer also resigned from the army after the incident.

“Police said the car involved in the accident was registered in the name of his father, the police said, adding that after the arrest of the driver, his father also reached the police station and made attempts to influence the police for the release of his son. However, after the MP and other departments of the army learnt about the incident, they arrived at the police station and took custody of the lieutenant,” the report said.

Another report confirming the same was published by Saudi news outlet Arab News on May 25 with the headline, “Motorist who killed two pro-Palestine protesters in Islamabad identified as army officer — police”.

“The driver who crushed two people to death [on Jinnah Avenue] was arrested from the scene and identified as an army officer,” the report quoted Jawad as saying.

BACKGROUND

On May 20 in Islamabad, two people were killed and four others, including a police inspector, were injured when a speeding car ran over participants of a “Save Gaza” protest on Jinnah Avenue.

The driver fled the scene but was later caught by police. The incident happened while the protesters were sleeping. The protest was organised by former Jamaat-i-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmad.

CONCLUSION

The iVerify Pakistan team has determined that the claim regarding the identity of the driver who crushed two pro-Palestine protesters in Islamabad as being from the military is true.

As per police confirmation to news outlets, the driver was a lieutenant of the Pakistan Army and has been handed over to the Military Police for legal proceedings.

Evidence and References

May 25, 2024, Dawn news report:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1835474/driver-handed-over-to-military-police-after-save-gaza-accident-in-islamabad

May 25, 2024, Arab News report:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2516781/pakistan