CLAIM

Video of Pakistan military personnel forcibly entering a house in Waziristan

RATING JUSTIFICATION

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

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image and keyword search to trace the original source of the viral video and assess its context.

Multiple pro-Afghan accounts on social media platform X shared a video on January 18, 2026, claiming it showed Pakistani military personnel forcibly entering a house in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Waziristan to use residents as human shields. However, the video is at least as old as 2023 and shows the Punjab Police.

Waziristan has witnessed heightened security activity in recent months due to operations against terrorists, following a rise in attacks targeting security forces and infrastructure.

HOW IT STARTED

On Jan 18, a pro-Afghan X account shared a video with the following caption: “This is not the Israeli army but the Pakistani army that violates the sanctity of people’s homes in Waziristan, forcibly enters houses, remains terrified of the opposing party that comes into view, and uses the innocent people of the area as human shields, which is blatant oppression and a clear violation of human rights.”

The post gained 57,100 views.

Another account shared the same video on X on Jan 19 with the following caption: “Innocent civilians used as human shields in Waziristan by Pakistani military … This is outright oppression and a clear violation of human rights.”

This post gained 4,462 views.

Several other pro-Afghan accounts also shared the same video with similar captions on X, as can be seen here, here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

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

A close observation of the personnel in the video showed that they were not wearing the uniform of the military but that of the Punjab Police. Moreover, the language heard in the video was Punjabi, not Pashto.

A keyword search also did not yield any news reports from credible national or regional media outlets that covered any such recent alleged incident.

A reverse image search yielded an Instagram post dated September 20, 2023, which shared the same video.

The caption of the post said: “Punjab Police have resorted to desecrating places of worship. Punjab Police can be seen jumping over and then entering the Imam Bargah Shahzada Ali Akbar while wearing shoes. Details of the incident could not be ascertained.

Whatever the reason may have been, and regardless of which religion or sect the place of worship belongs to, such desecration, entering with shoes and without the presence of female police officers, is extremely condemnable.”

The context of the video could not be definitively corroborated, as a keyword search did not yield any other details of the incident involving the Punjab Police. However, the fact that the video dates back to at least 2023 and features the Punjab Police conclusively shows that it is not related to the military or Waziristan in any way.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows the Pakistan military personnel forcibly entering a house to use the residents as human shields in Waziristan is false.

The video is at least as old as September 2023 and shows the Punjab Police.

EVIDENCE AND REFERENCES

September 20, 2023, Instagram post:

https://archive.md/HgwCH