Fact Check: Pakistani minister assaults couple on camera? Here’s what happened
Claim: The video shows Pakistan’s Punjab education minister, Rana Sikandar Hayat, assaulting a woman and her partner after they participated in a recent protest in Lahore.
Fact: The claim is false. The incident occurred in 2021, and the man in the video is Usman Mirza.
Hyderabad: A viral video shows a man assaulting a woman and her partner in a room. Those sharing the clip claim it features education minister Rana Sikandar Hayat from the Maryam Nawaz government attacking the couple for participating in a protest against the sexual assault on a woman in Lahore.
Giving a hypothetical communal angle to the incident, X handle, Baba Banaras, infamous for peddling misinformation, shared the video (trigger warning: visuals of violence) and wrote, “An incident has come to light from Pakistan which has shaken the entire world. In Pakistan’s Punjab province, Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat in the Maryam Nawaz government stripped a girl and assaulted her in front of a camera. The crime of that girl and her partner was that they had participated in the protest against the assault of a girl at Lahore University. Now just imagine that when a Pakistani minister can openly do this to a Muslim woman in front of the camera, then what will the people of Pakistan do with the Hindus?” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The incident occurred in 2021. The man assaulting the couple is Usman Mirza, not Pakistan’s Punjab education minister, Rana Sikandar Hayat.
We conducted a reverse image search of the video’s keyframes and found the same visuals featured in video reports by Pakistani news outlets ARY News and BOl News. Both reports identified the main accused as Usman Mizra.
Further, we ran a keyword search and came across a report by The Tribune published on March 25, 2022, titled ‘Usman Mirza, four others get life imprisonment.’ The report carried the image of Usman Mirza, and he was sentenced after ‘a video of the culprits harassing a couple at gunpoint went viral on social media in July 2021.’
According to the report, then PM Imran Khan, upon taking note of the case, instructed the Islamabad IG to ensure the accused received the harshest possible punishment. The Islamabad High Court directed the trial court to conclude the trial within the first two months, later extending it by an additional three months. Usman Mirza, along with Idris Qayyum Butt, Mohib Khan Bangash, Hafiz Ataur Rehman and Farhan Shaheen were subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment.
In an article dated March 25, 2022, Dawn reported that a sessions court in Islamabad sentenced Usman Mirza to life imprisonment for holding a couple at gunpoint, forcing them to strip, assaulting them and filming the ordeal. The article also noted that Mirza’s accomplices and co-accused—Hafiz Ataur Rehman, Adaras Qayyum Butt, Mohib Bangash and Farhan Shaheen—were also sentenced to life in prison, while two other men, Umar Bilal and Rehan Hassan Mughal, were acquitted.
Lastly, we searched for reports accusing Rana Sikandar Hayat of sexual assault but found no such claims in the Pakistani media. Hence, we conclude that the video is from 2021 and does not show the Punjab education minister sexually assaulting a woman on video. The claim is false.
(This story was originally published by newsmeter.in, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
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Passing out parade held at IMA Dehradun, 491 young officers join Indian Army
Dehradun(PTI): After undergoing rigorous training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun, 491 cadets participated in a grand Passing Out Parade on Saturday and will now be commissioned as officers in the Indian Army.
The spectacular parade, held at the historic Drill Square in front of the academy's Chatwood Building, was reviewed by Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, who served as the reviewing officer.
Along with 491 Indian cadets, 34 foreign cadets from 14 friendly countries also participated in the Autumn Term 2025 Passing Out Parade.
A total of 525 officer cadets from the 157th Regular Course, 46th Technical Entry Scheme, 140th Technical Graduate Course, 55th Special Commissioned Officers Course, and Territorial Army Online Entrance Exam 2023 Course participated in the Passing Out Parade.
The 'Sword of Honour' and gold medal for securing first place during training was awarded to ACA Nishkal Dwivedi, the silver medal to BUO Badal Yadav for second place, and the bronze medal to SUO Kamaljeet Singh for third place.
The silver medal for securing first place in the 'Technical Graduate Course' was awarded to Officer Cadet Jadhav Sujit Sampat, and the silver medal for first place in the 'Technical Entry Scheme-46' was awarded to WCC Abhinav Mehrotra.
The silver medal for the 'Special Commission Officer Course' was given to Officer Cadet Sunil Kumar Chhetri.
Among the foreign cadets, the first place in merit was secured by JUO Mohammad Safin Ashraf from Bangladesh. The Army Chief's Banner for overall best performance in the Autumn Term was awarded to Imphal Company.
As the parade concluded, helicopters showered flowers on the newly commissioned officers from the sky.
On this occasion, General Dwivedi congratulated the new officers in his address for successfully completing their training. He praised the young officers for their high level of discipline, leadership qualities, and endurance, and urged them to uphold the glorious traditions of the Indian Army and serve the nation with loyalty, commitment, and honour.
General Dwivedi said that joining the army marks the beginning of a lifelong duty and selfless service.
The parents and guardians of the newly commissioned officers were also present during the passing out parade.
