Viral video of Baloch civilians pelting an armoured vehicle

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 and a keyword search to trace the original source.

Multiple Afghan and propaganda accounts on social media platform X shared a clip on February 4, 2026, claiming it showed Baloch civilians pelting an armoured vehicle. However, the clip is old and is from Afghanistan.

Security forces responded to a spate of attacks across Balochistan on January 31, which brought parts of the restive province to a standstill for several days. They successfully concluded “Operation Radd-ul-Fitna-1” in Balochistan, killing a total of 216 terrorists in the days-long clearance actions against “Indian-sponsored terrorist elements”.

As per the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, 2025 was the deadliest year in Balochistan, with 254 attacks and over 400 deaths, a 26 per cent increase from last year.

HOW IT STARTED

On Feb 4, an Afghan account shared a video on X with the following caption: “The oppressive Pakistani army and children.”

The post gained 298,400 views.

Another account, which appears to be an Indian account based on its past posts, also shared the same video with the following caption: “Stonepelting on Pakistan Army vehicles that came for oppressive actions in Balochistan & Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan Army doing injustice with Balochis and Pakhtuns.”

The post accumulated over 59,500 views.

A propagandist account also shared a similar clip with the following caption: “Do you know whose vehicle this is, and who these people and children are who are throwing stones at it? Today, the Pakistani army is once again repeating what critics describe as a history of betrayal. It has taken part in Trump’s So-Called peace board, one aim of which is to disarm Hamas, and in this objective, the Pakistani military is alleged to be playing a significant role.”

The post garnered 27,000 views.

The same video with a similar claim was also shared by multiple other propagandist accounts on X, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here; collectively gaining more than 30,000 views.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the situation in Balochistan following the recent attacks.

A keyword search, conducted to corroborate whether any such incident occurred recently, yielded no news reports from credible mainstream media outlets.

A reverse image search conducted on keyframes of the viral video yielded a similar clip posted on YouTube, dated September 28, 2023, with no mention of Baloch civilians attacking an armoured vehicle.

Furthermore, a news report dated Dec 8, 2020, from news outlet Avia Pro was found titled “Hundreds of local residents attacked American soldiers - video of the attack has emerged”.

Sharing the same video, Avia Pro reported that local Afghan residents attacked an American military patrol that had invaded their settlement.

The keyword search results also yielded another news report from Dec 8, 2020, by Iranian news outlet Khabar Online titled “US Army armoured vehicle pelted with stones by local Afghan resident”.

It stated that after 13 years of the US-Afghan war, a US armoured vehicle was pelted with stones by local Afghan residents.

The incident was also covered by other media outlets, such as Aparat, Sina and Sohu, with the same context.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows Baloch civilians pelting an armoured vehicle with stones is false.

The video is old and from Afghanistan and shows locals throwing stones at a US armoured vehicle.

EVIDENCE AND REFERENCES

Dec 8, 2020, Avia Pro news article:
https://avia.pro/news/sotni-mestnyh-zhiteley-atakovali-amerikanskih-voennyh-poyavilos-video-napadeniya

Dec 8, 2020, Khabar Online news article:
https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/1463776/%D8%A8%D8%A8%DB%8C%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%B3%D9%86%DA%AF-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%88%DB%8C-%D8%B2%D8%B1%D9%87%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AA%D8%B4-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7-%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%B7-%D8%B3%D8%A7%DA%A9%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%BA%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86

Dec 18, 2020, Aparat news article:
https://www.aparat.com/v/t06b5d2

Dec 9, 2020, Sina news article:
https://k.sina.cn/article_6429052772_17f338f6400100qd5k.html

Dec 9, 2020, Sohu news article:
https://www.sohu.com/a/437151265_120266948