Funeral procession video of protesters killed by security forces’ firing in KP’s Tirah Valley

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 as well as searched for news stories to corroborate the claim.

Posts from multiple users on social media platform X since July 27, 2025, shared a video, claiming it shows coffins of people killed in a firing incident in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah Valley. However, the video is actually from June 2025 and shows the victims of a mortar shell in the Torghar area of Central Kurram district.

On July 27, seven people were shot after a protest outside a military installation in Tirah took a violent turn. Hundreds of tribesmen had brought the body of a girl, who they claimed was killed in a mortar strike in the Darbar locality of Peer Mela in Zakhakhel a day earlier, to the Brigade Headquarters in Bagh-Maidan Markaz.

The situation turned violent when an angry mob, comprising mostly young men, ignored calls by local elders to remain calm. They first torched an excavator parked outside Brigade Headquarters, and then tried to force open the garrison’s main gate. Security personnel guar­ding the installation reportedly opened fire to control the crowd.

There was no official statement from the local administration or the military about the mortar strike or the deaths.

HOW IT STARTED

On July 27, 2025, PTI MPA Abdul Ghani Afridi shared a video on X showing a funeral procession with several coffins, with the caption: “These are not scenes from Gaza but from the Tirah Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. People martyred by the firing of security forces.”

The post garnered over 103,000 views.

The same video, with a similar caption, was also posted by the regional coordinator of the rights group Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement in Khyber district on X.

Several other PTI supporters amplified the same claim as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, collectively gaining more than 72,000 views.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the violence and unrest in KP.

A reverse image search led to a TikTok video uploaded on June 26, 2025. The footage was identical to the viral video, although the user did not mention any context or location.

The same video was also found on Facebook, dated June 24, 2025.

A further search led to a 52-second TikTok video posted on June 24, 2025, with a caption stating: “Today, instead of the bodies of three innocent children from Torghar, only a few remains will be buried, while the fourth, who was also martyred, has not been found, so his funeral prayer will be held in absentia.”

Using relevant keywords such as “Torghar” and “three children die”, a news report by Dawn dated June 23, 2025, was found, titled “Four die as mortar shell explodes in Kurram.”

According to the report, four individuals, Hamid, Riaz, Ayaz, and Irfan, were killed on the spot when a mortar shell, fired from an unknown direction, hit an area where children were playing in Torghar, Central Kurram. Locals protested after the incident, demanding an inquiry and accountability.

The same incident was also reported by The News on June 22, 2025.

Searching further for visuals of the incident, a video posted on X on June 22, 2025, was found with the following caption: “Today, instead of the bodies of three innocent children, a funeral for a few pieces will be held in Torghar, while the fourth, who is martyred, has no trace found, and his funeral prayer in absentia will be performed.”

The video showed four coffins with the same colours as those in the viral clip.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a video shows the funeral procession with coffins of those killed in a firing incident by security forces in KP’s Tirah Valley is false.

The video dates back to June 2025 and shows the coffins for those killed by a mortar shell.

Evidence and References

June 26, 2025, TikTok video:
https://archive.ph/JRDrK

June 24, 2025, Facebook video:
https://archive.ph/bSh7j

June 24, 2025, TikTok video:
https://archive.ph/MQpQF

June 23, 2025, Dawn news story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1919204/four-die-as-mortar-shell-explodes-in-kurram

June 22, 2025, The News news story:
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1323672-four-killed-in-kurram-mortar-shell-hit

June 22, 2025, X post:
https://archive.ph/i2rox