Viral video of Pakistanis protesting in London against army chief during UK visit

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search to find the original source of the video.

Posts from multiple users on various social media platforms since February 20, 2025, shared a video claiming to show a large protest by Pakistanis in London against Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir during his UK visit. However, the video is from an old PTI protest in Italy in November 2024 and had nothing to do with the army chief’s visit.

COAS Munir concluded his visit to the UK on Feb 20. During the visit, he was awarded a ceremonial guard of honour. He also attended the seventh Regional Stabilisation Conference at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and delivered a speech.

He met senior UK officials, including Chief of Defence Staff Adm Toney Radakin, British Army Chief Gen Sir Roland Walker, National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, discussing security cooperation and mutual interests.

HOW IT STARTED

On Feb 20, a video was shared on social media platform X by a user who appeared to be a PTI supporter, based on his past posts and profile photo. The video showed a large number of people protesting on the road.

The caption of the post said: “Pakistanis protest strongly against army chief Asim Munir’s visit to London. There is deep anger and resentment among Pakistanis around the world over the ongoing human rights violations in Pakistan.”

The post was viewed by over 127,000 people and reshared 6,400 times.

The user had reposted the video from another PTI supporter whose post said: “London roars. Overseas, you are amazing. You give the reception properly,” without mentioning the army chief. That post gained over 128,000 views and 4,700 shares.

The same video was shared by another PTI user on X, praising Londoners and gaining 95,600 views.

The video was also shared on Facebook and Instagram.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in the army chief’s UK visit.

A reverse image search conducted using different screenshots led to a longer video posted on Facebook by the official PTI Punjab account on November 25, 2024.

The caption of the post read: “PTI Italy – Brescia. A huge protest was organised by PTI Italy in Brescia, where Pakistanis from across Italy gathered to show support for Imran Khan and protest against the worst human rights abuses in Pakistan.”

The post also included the hashtags #FinalCall and #HistoryInMaking at the end of the caption.

Similarly, the same video was shared on X by the official PTI Lahore account on November 25, 2024, with the same caption.

On Nov 13, PTI founder Imran Khan had issued a “final call” for nationwide protests on Nov 24, denouncing what he described as the stolen election mandate, the unjust arrests of people and the passage of the 26th constitutional amendment, which he said had strengthened a “dictatorial regime”. The eventful day led to PTI supporters converging on Islamabad which witnessed clashes between them and state authorities on Nov 26.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows a protest in London by Pakistanis against the army chief during his visit to the UK is false.

The viral video is of a PTI protest in Italy from November 2024 and is not linked to the army chief’s recent visit.

Evidence and References

Nov 25, 2024, Facebook post of PTI Punjab:
https://archive.ph/Msq6Q

Nov 25,2024, X post of PTI Lahore:
https://perma.cc/JC87-BYBX