The Punjab Police on Wednesday decried “fake propaganda” after a string of videos showing Pakistan Army officers allegedly assaulting and beating up cops in Bahawalnagar went viral on social media.
“This matter in Bahawalnagar, which went viral on social media, has been exaggerated,” the police said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
A day earlier, several videos, showing men in army uniforms allegedly beating up police officials in Bahawalnagar, went viral on social media. One video showed a man sitting on the ground with a bloody nose. Another clip showed a man and two army personnel forcing policemen to kneel in a queue.
Some social media users claimed that the incident was motivated by police recovering an illegal weapon from the relative of a soldier.
Dawn.com could not independently verify the authenticity of the clips.
The footage drew outrage from journalists and politicians. PTI leader Hammad Azhar said the Punjab police chief should have immediately resigned after the incident, claiming that the provincial government was treating the matter as “trivial”.
However, in a statement issued last night, the police said the episode was being presented in a way to “imply that there has been fighting between the Pakistan Army and Punjab Police”.
“When the unverified videos went viral, both institutions launched a joint investigation. Officers from both institutions reviewed the facts and peacefully resolved the matter,” it said.
“Punjab Police and the Pakistan Army are cooperating to eliminate terrorists, miscreants and criminals from the province. We request that social media users do not spread fake propaganda,” the statement concluded.
Another video posted on the Punjab Police’s X account showed police and military officials chanting ‘Long Live Pakistan Army’.
The police statement, however, did not give details on what conspired between the men in the video. Dawn.com has reached out to officials in the area for further details.