Fact check: The metro bus station near Islamabad's D-Chowk was not set on fire during PTI's Azadi March

Published May 26, 2022
A screengrab from a video circulating on Twitter, apparently showing metro bus station on fire at D-Chowk in Islamabad on Wednesday.
A screengrab from a video circulating on Twitter, apparently showing metro bus station on fire at D-Chowk in Islamabad on Wednesday.

As PTI workers powered through police obstacles amid intense shelling on Wednesday night to reach D-Chowk in Islamabad at the call of their leader Imran Khan, social media was swamped with minute-by-minute updates of live action but also with some misinformation.

While television footage did show smoke rising from the ground and fires in the green belts adjacent to Islamabad's main roads, the reports of a metro bus station been torched were wide of the mark.

The report of the station's purported torching was floated on Twitter across the night. The footage showed a fire burning at a considerable distance and linked it to the alleged burning of the metro bus station near D-Chowk.

A first information report registered at the Kohsar police station on Thursday also mentioned that a metro bus station near Geo Chowk had been set on fire.

However, a fact check run by a Dawn.com correspondent, which included in-person inspection of the bus station, has found the claim to be untrue.

Upon further investigation, it has been found that the object on fire in the video was not the metro station but a tree located in the greenbelt behind the Parade Ground.

Dawn.com also acquired footage shot on the site today, which showed that the metro bus station not only stood in once piece but was completely undamaged, contrary to what was said in the captions of the videos shared on Twitter.

Here are a few more images of the metro bus station.

This combination of photos shows a charred tree behind the metro bus station. — Photo by Nadir Guramani
This combination of photos shows a charred tree behind the metro bus station. — Photo by Nadir Guramani

A view of the Parade Ground metro bus station at D-Chowk, Islamabad. — photo by Nadir Guramani
A view of the Parade Ground metro bus station at D-Chowk, Islamabad. — photo by Nadir Guramani

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