CLAIM

Viral video shows young Pakhtun girls shivering in heavy snow amid military operation 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 reviewed the clip for visual inconsistencies and conducted a forensic analysis to assess its authenticity.

Multiple Indian and pro-PTI accounts on social media platform X shared a video since January 24, 2026, allegedly showing young girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah valley shivering in heavy snow amid an ongoing military operation. However, the clip is AI-generated.

Heavy snowfall and a snowstorm left thousands stranded in the Tirah valley of Khyber district in recent days, where over 15,000 people were rescued. Over the weekend, evacuation operations continued in the valley with residents fleeing their homes amid an ongoing military operation.

Hundreds of Tirah residents vacated their homes ahead of a planned military action against terrorist group affiliates who have, over the period of time, forcibly occupied several houses in different parts of the valley while using locals as human shields.

The decision to move the civilian population out of Tirah was reached in December 2025, after several meetings between the local jirga and security and administration officials. During the negotiations, which lasted weeks, it was decided that the valley would be evacuated for a final operation to rid the area of outlaws who had been interfering with the social fabric.

HOW IT STARTED

On Jan 24, an X account that appears to be a PTI supporter based on past posts, shared a video on X that allegedly showed young girls shivering barefoot in heavy snow.

The caption of the post read, “Pakistanis, you’re sending your army to shed our blood, aren’t you? When we depart from this world, we will call upon the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) as witness and complain about you with Allah.”

The post garnered over 122,000 views.

The PTI’s Karachi chapter also shared the same video on its X account with the following caption: “The silent and unmarked caravans of Tirah were thrust into the snowy darkness as if their breath held no value. The children who today are burying their toys, their homes in the soil, will tomorrow lay bare the truth before the world, no matter how unpalatable it may be to anyone.

“Remember, on the Day of Reckoning, neither positions nor identities will avail; only this will be asked: how did you treat the weak, the helpless, and the innocent among humanity? The burden of human rights violations and oppression is exceedingly heavy, and when the reckoning comes, no share of forgiveness falls to anyone.”

The post gained about 1,000 views.

The clip and caption were subsequently shared by several other social media users, as seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here; collectively gaining more than 90,000 views.

The same clip was also shared on other platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, as can be seen 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 situation in the Tirah valley.

A close observation of the girls in the video revealed that one of them, the first in line, had only four fingers on her right foot. Throughout the 10-second video, the girl does not blink once except for a fraction of a second — a visual inconsistency common to AI-generated clips.

Moreover, Palestinian flags can be seen prominently in the background.

Analysing the video through AI-detection tools such as Hive Moderation, Undetectable.ai, SightEngine, and TruthScan revealed that the clip was fake, as each flagged it as 99 per cent AI-generated.

Meanwhile, a reverse image search yielded results that showed that the video was previously shared in the context of the situation in Gaza, as seen here, here, here, here and here. These posts were as old as December 2025.

One such video was shared on Jan 9, 2025, by a TikTok account that repeatedly posts AI-generated videos. The video was tagged as AI-generated media by the social media application.

Furthermore, former caretaker information minister of Balochistan, Jan Achakzai, also shared the same video on his X account and flagged it as AI-generated. “AI picture. Express sympathy if you want, but find genuine pics,” he wrote in the post.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows young Pakhtun girls shivering in heavy snow amid a military operation in KP’s Tirah valley is false.

The video is AI-generated.

EVIDENCE AND REFERENCES

Dec 30, 2025, Instagram video:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DS5wsiHiPj8/

Jan 25, 2026, Jan Achakzai X post:

https://x.com/Jan_Achakzai/status/2015528464884142386