Viral video showing lady doctor being thrashed in SHO’s office in Bahawalnagar

Rating Justification

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

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search and keyword search to find news reports on the incident.

Posts from multiple PTI supporters on various social media platforms since September 18, 2025, shared a video, alleging that it showed a lady doctor being physically assaulted by PML-N member Adeel Afzal and others in a police station in Punjab’s Bahawalnagar district. However, the clip is old and dates back to June 29, 2022.

HOW IT STARTED

An X user, who appears to be a PTI supporter based on her past posts, shared shared a video on Sept 18, showing a lady being physically beaten inside what looked to be a police station.

The caption of the post said: “Someone should throw a blanket over the law of this country. In Haroonabad tehsil of Bahawalnagar district, PML-N member Adeel Afzal, along with other associates, severely tortured lady doctor Maryam Hussain inside the police station and broke a bone in her hand. The accused have the support of local PML-N officials. Police are reluctant to take action.”

The post did not provide further details of the incident such as when it exactly occurred.

The post gained over 235,000 views.

The same video with a similar claim was shared by other users and PTI supporters on X as can be seen here, here, here, here, here and here and on Instagram and Facebook.

METHODOLOGY

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

A reverse image search yielded a Bol News article dated June 29, 2022, titled “Video of lady doctor being subjected to torture went viral”.

According to the report, the lady doctor was thrashed in the office of the Haroonabad station house officer (SHO) in June 2022. It added that a government official had also taken notice of the incident.

A keyword search yielded another news article dated June 30, 2022, by English publication Dawn titled “Lady doctor tortured by relative at police station in Punjab’s Bahawalnagar”.

According to the report, then-Punjab chief minister Hamza Shehbaz had sought a report from the Bahawalnagar district police officer over the viral CCTV footage of the Haroonabad city police station in which a “political figure” could be seen thrashing a lady doctor inside the SHO’s office.

The article referred to the assailant as “Adeel Afzal, an influential politician” but did not identify his political affiliation.

It added that the SHO was suspended and the incident occurred on June 24, 2022.

A further keyword search also yielded a June 30, 2022, YouTube video of Geo News programme ‘Geo Pakistan’ titled “Torture on lady doctor; SHO suspended”.

The video featured screenshots from the same viral video of the woman being thrashed.

Lastly, a statement from the Bahawalnagar Police on X issued on September 18, 2025, was also found stating that the video was old and action was taken against the person involved.

The post had the following caption: “A video of violence against a woman is viral on social media. This incident is three years old, and legal action was immediately taken, with a case registered against the accused. The main culprit was sentenced to six months by the honourable court, while legal action was also taken against the SHO.”

FACT-CHECK STATUS: MISLEADING

The claim that a viral video shows a lady doctor being thrashed inside a police station in Punjab’s Bahawalnagar is misleading.

The video and incident are old from June 2022. Omitting this crucial contextual information serves to misguide the public into thinking that it is a recent incident and spreads unnecessary anger and resentment.

Evidence and References

June 29, 2022, Bol News reports:
https://www.bolnews.com/pakistan/2022/06/lady-doctor-being-subjected-to-torture/

June 30, 2022, Dawn report:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1697398

June 30, 2022, Geo News YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HccJnqXq2Ig