Video Of Pak Minister Heckled By Imran Khan Supporters Viral With False Claim
BOOM found that Marriyum Aurangzeb, Pakistan Information Minister was heckled in London by Imran Khan's PTI party supporters.
A video of Pakistan's Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb heckled by Imran Khan supporters in London, is being shared by Indian social media users claiming she was harassed by Pakistanis in the UK for not wearing a hijab.
The video shows a crowd surrounding Aurangzeb in a coffee shop while hurling abuses at her and accusing her of stealing "the money of Pakistani" people.
Several Indian accounts have shared the video with a claim in Hindi that translates to, "Pakistan's minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has always sported a dupatta (hijab) on her head. Yesterday in London, she was drinking beer at a very expensive bar, Pakistanis came to know and they all started insulting her."
(Original text in Hindi - पाकिस्तान की मंत्री मरियम औरंगजेब पाकिस्तान में हमेशा अपने सर पर हिजाब पहने रहती हैं. कल लंदन में वह बहुत महंगे बार में बगैर हिजाब के बियर पी रही थी पाकिस्तानियों को भनक लग गई फिर जाहिल पाकी मरियम औरंगजेब की वहीं बेइज्जती करने लगे)
FACT CHECK
BOOM found that Aurangzeb was heckled by supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and the party he founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Aurangzeb is with the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and is currently the Minister for Information & Broadcasting in the country.
Pakistan saw political turmoil after the Imran Khan led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf coalition government fell, with Khan dislodged from his position as prime minister which was taken over by PMLN's Shehbaz Sharif.
A search for 'Marriyum Aurangzeb + London' showed several news reports from Pakistani, Indian and international news outlets about how she was heckled in London where she is attending the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.
Pakistani daily newspaper, Dawn, reported, "Videos widely shared on social media showed Aurangzeb being harassed and heckled by people wearing PTI colours in a shop" and further added, "...Aurangzeb can be seen in what appears to be a coffee shop, encircled by PTI supporters who are yelling and jeering at her and recording her with their mobile phones. She takes a sip of her drink unfazed as one heckler yells through a megaphone at her."
Taking this as a cue, we looked for more videos and found a clearer version of the one that went viral, tweeted by Pakistani journalist Mughees Ali.
In this, some members of the crowd who heckled Aurangzeb can be seen sporting the PTI colours of red and green and the party logo as a hat and as a scarf.
In another video, tweeted by several people shot when Aurangzeb is not in the cafe, but walking on the street, she can be seen followed by more hecklers, one of them carrying the PTI flag.
In the above video one of the women heckling Aurangzeb taunts her for not covering her head. However, the claim that she was heckled for not wearing a hijab abroad is misleading as the ambush appears to be political with PTI supporters behind it. Additionally, in all the videos, the hecklers can be seen carrying megaphones, indicating that this was a planned ambush.
The video can be viewed below
Additionally, Aurangzeb can be seen entering a small shop and buying a can of diet Coke and not a beer unlike the viral claim. In a screengrab, the can of soft drink is seen in her hand.
Aurangzeb also tweeted about the incident retweeting a video of the incident and said, "Sad to see the toxic impact IK's politics of hate & divisiveness has had on our brothers & sisters. I stayed & answered each & every question they had. Sadly, they are victims of IK's propaganda. We will continue our work to counter IK's toxic politics & bring people together."
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