Tarek Fatah, a Pakistani-Canadian journalist, an author and a serial Fake news peddler, tweeted a video showing a group of men uprooting newly-planted trees with a communal claim. According to Fateh, the video shows Pakistani's uprooting trees in order to better the practice of "killing infidel kaafirs".
At the time of writing this report, the tweet has been shared over 4,000 times and garnered over 12,000 likes.
Pakistani Jihadis uprooting tree saplings to practice killing infidel kaafirs.
— Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) August 9, 2020
Which begs the eternal question:
How does one country produce so many rectums? Just how does Pakistan do it?
pic.twitter.com/ADNkdmvrR9
The video was shared by other Twitter users too with other claims.
Modi Ji on Earth Day started "Plant Trees" project because it has many benefits. Now Pakistan PM Imran Khan is copying Modi & started the "Tree Plantation Drive". Look at these idiot vultures in Pakistan ripping out all the trees. They said "Planting trees is against Islam". pic.twitter.com/N4kSOKoeKK
— Renee Lynn (@Voice_For_India) August 9, 2020See how the followers of #Pakistan PM,Imran Khan uprooting trees as to them "Planting trees are against Islam."
— #TheRhino (@TheRhino2131) August 9, 2020
Must Share Maximum. pic.twitter.com/hto6RWecAR
Claim:
Pakistani citizens uprooted trees as part of their religious practice.
The claim is false. The incident in the video is true and recent but there is an unnecessary communal angle being assigned to it.
A keyword search was done on Google which led to news reports on the incident.
According to a report by The International News, on April 9, the residents of the Mandi Kas area uprooted plants which were planted during the plantation campaign of a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province) lawmaker.
Immediately after Members of the National Assembly Iqbal Afridi's campaign which was part of the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami initiative being commemorated on Tiger Force Day concluded, the local people arrived at the site to remove the newly-planted trees. According to one of the men, the plantation drive had been "forcefully" carried out "on private land" of citizens. MNA Afridi confirmed later that the plantation had indeed occurred on private property.
"The locals were angry over the unauthorised tree plantation campaign," the lawmaker was quoted as saying. "We're trying to have negotiations with them," he added.
According to the official one of the groups gave permission for the plantation drive, while the other uprooted them.
Other reports on the incident can be accessed here, here and here.
Pakistan PM Imran Khan on April 9 had attended a ceremony which was the biggest tree plantation drive undertaken by the government and aimed at planting 3.5 million saplings across the country in a day.
Thus the video getting viral doesn't have anything to do with the claims it is being shared.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
Also Read: Fact Check: Tarak Fateh's Tweet About Pakistani Woman Refusing Polio Drops Is Actually A Movie Scene
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