Fact Check: Pro-Pakistan rally in Kerala after Pahalgam terror attack? No, video shows protest against Waqf Act

Hyderabad: A video claiming to show Muslims in Kerala participating in pro-Pakistan rallies is going viral on social media. These posts are being circulated in the context of the Pahalgam terror attack, which took place on 22 April.

In the video, we can see a group of men sloganeering in a rally while wearing green-coloured jerseys and holding green flags with a white crescent moon symbol on them.

The video is making rounds on social media, with users claiming that the rally was pro-Pakistan and took place after the Pahalgam attack. Some users also allege that the jerseys and flags seen in the video resemble the Pakistan national flag.

Sharing the video on Facebook a user wrote, “The state government is letting anti-nationals go! It is shameful that some Muslims in Kerala are holding a rally in support of Pakistan! If such actions are not strictly prevented, they will become a major threat to the security of the country. Everyone who loves and respects India should condemn anti-national acts. #PahalgamTerroristAttack #IndiaFirst” (Translated from Telugu) (Archive)

The same video was found circulating on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, “This is Kozhikode, Kerala. They have a party named Muslim league that dresses like Pakistan Cricket team with Pakistan flag. We have enemies within India.” (Archive)

Another X user has also posted the video with the caption, “Indian Muslim not coming slow…Kerala stand with Pakistan.” (Archive)

Posts making similar claims can be found here, here and here (Archive 1, Archive 2 and Archive 3)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the viral claims are false. The video does not show a pro-Pakistan rally of Muslims in Kerala, nor are the men holding Pakistan flags. It shows Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) activists holding the party flag in a protest against the Waqf Amendment Act on 16 April.

We did not find any news reports on pro-Pakistan rallies being held in Kerala after the Pahalgam terror attack on 22 April.

Zooming in on the keyframes, we found that ‘Arangadi’ is written on the green jerseys worn by the men. The crescent moon symbol on the flags and jerseys also looks different from the national flag of Pakistan. Also, the flag from the viral video does not have the white vertical stripe that can be seen on the Pakistan National Flag.

It is clear that the jerseys and the flags in the viral video are not the same as the Pakistan National Flag.

In the video, the men can be heard shouting slogans in support of Syed Sadiqali Shihab Thangal, the Kerala State President of IUML. Nowhere in the video can we hear words such as "Pakistan" or "Pahalgam.".

Using reverse image search of the video's keyframes, we found the same viral video uploaded by an Instagram account ‘arangadi_official_page’. The video was uploaded on 16 April with the caption, ‘Kozhikode’. (Archive)

On the same Instagram account, a banner was shared with the image of Syed Sadiqali Shihab Thangal on 15 April. The banner states that a protest against the Waqf Amendment Act was being organised in Kozhikode on 16 April at 3 PM.

Times of India published a report on 4 April titled, ‘IUML to stage mass protests, to move apex court’. The report stated that, “IUML has decided to stage protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act across the country starting off with a mega waqf protection rally to be held in Kozhikode on April 16.”

A report on the 16 April Waqf Act protest was published by Maktoob Media the same day titled, ‘Lakhs join IUML’s protest against new Waqf law in Kozhikode, organisers say ‘largest protest in India’.

Asim Arangadi, the Kasaragod Unit President of IUML, confirmed to NewsMeter that the video circulating online was from the rally in Kozhikode against the Waqf Amendment Act. "It was a statewide rally with participants from across the state, and around 80 of us from Kasaragod participated. The video was recorded on the day of the rally, April 16, in Kozhikode," Asim said.

It is clear that the viral video was shot during a Waqf Amendment Act protest held on 16 April. This does not show a pro-Pakistan rally by Muslims in Kerala after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on 22 April. In the rally, Pakistan National Flags and jerseys were not used; IUML party flags were used.

Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the viral claims are false.