Viral Video Of Tomatoes Being Destroyed In Pakistan Shared With False Communal Claim

A video showing people tossing tomatoes from a truck onto the roads is going viral across social media. The video is going viral with the claim that the video shows Pakistanis throwing tomatoes from Iran due to a Shia-Sunni conspiracy.

Claim:

The video shows several people dropping crates of tomatoes from a truck onto the ground. Zee News shared the video with the claim that these tomatoes are from Iran and were dumped as they were 'Shia tomatoes'.

Shubhankar Mishra, a news anchor at Aaj Tak, stated, "This tomato is being thrown in Pakistan because it came from Iran; hence it is a 'Shia tomato'. In Pakistan, now onions and tomatoes have also joined the category of infidels." He later deleted his tweet. He also shared the same video on his YouTube channel.

Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) tweeted the same video with the following claim, "Pakistanis destroyed trucks full of tomatoes because the tomatoes were imported from Iran, and were therefore deemed to be Shia."

News Anchor Gaurav Agrawal shared a video and wrote, "पाकिस्तान की दशा पर एक पाकिस्तानी की व्यथा सुनिए। ये टमाटर इसलिए फेंका जा रहा है क्योंकि ये ईरान से आया है और इसलिए ये 'शिया टमाटर' है. #Pakistan #Shia."

[English Translation: Listen to the plight of a Pakistani on the condition of Pakistan. This tomato is being thrown because it has come from Iran and hence it is a 'Shia tomato'. #Pakistan #Shia.]

News channel Times Now Navbharat also shared this viral video on its YouTube channel, giving it a 'Shia-Sunni' angle. ABP News also used this clip in their prime-time show "Ghanti Bajao" mentioning it Shia tomatoes.

The video is also viral with captions in Urdu, which reads in English: "These idiots are wasting tomatoes and onions because they came from Iran!!! If not the limit of ignorance, what is it? Sorry, sorry!!!"

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian fact-check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false. We found that people destroyed the tomatoes in Mangochar, Kalat district of Balochistan, demanding that the government should stop importing vegetables from neighbouring countries.

After examining the viral video closely, we noticed the TikTok handle @aghaalisha786. As TikTok is banned in India, we contacted a foreign resource person to obtain details about the user named Agha Alisha.

On TikTok, the user has about 5 thousand followers, and till now, this video posted on his profile has received 3 lakh 50 thousand views. There are many more videos like this on the user's profile.

We then conducted a keyword search with the terms 'tomatoes Pakistan'. We came across this report by the Hindustan Times, published on September 11, 2022. The article reads, "Angry Pakistani farmers went on a rampage and destroyed and looted tomato boxes imported from Iran in Balochistan."

Reportedly, the incident occurred after the Pakistan government allowed the imports of vegetables from Iran and Afghanistan to meet the shortfall caused by floods in Pakistan.

As per the Hindustan Times article, the farmers protested as they said their crops were ready. The farmers demanded that the government should stop importing vegetables from neighbouring countries.

We also found a report by GeoTV published on September 9, 2022. The report is titled, 'Kalat man arrested for throwing Iranian tomatoes off truck to protest import.' The GeoTV report stated that a man had been arrested from the Mangchar area in Kalat, Balochistan, for throwing out several crates of Iranian tomatoes from a truck. The man was protesting against the government's decision to import tomatoes.

The Commissioner of Kalat, Daud Khilji, says that the accused has been apprehended after his identity was established with the help of the viral video, as per the GeoTV report. At the same time, raids are being conducted to arrest other suspects in the case.

We also came across an article by Independent Urdu published on September 9, 2022. The Independent article quotes Mir Munir Ahmad Shahwani, a Member of the Executive Committee of Landlord Action Committee Balochistan, who said that the zamindars had suffered a lot due to floods and rains in Balochistan.

"Destruction of crops, gardens, tube-wells has put them in dire strait," the article notes. He notes that the throwing of tomatoes is a reaction to the problems and difficulties of landowners. As per the report, the landlords of Quetta Balochistan have spoken of opposing onions and tomatoes being imported from Iran.

The Independent article quotes Fidah Hussain Dashti, who says that tomatoes are being imported due to the floods in the three districts of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. "At present, the production of tomatoes in Pakistan is not enough to meet the requirements," the article notes Dashti as saying.

We also came across a video report published by Geo News on September 10, 2022. The video report carried footage from the viral video and mentions that a person has been arrested for destroying the tomatoes.

In our Fact Check, we also came across this tweet by Murtaza Solangi, executive editor at Nayadaur Media, published on September 10, 2022.

Conclusion:

Zee News and netizens claimed that a video showing a person destroying crates of tomatoes was due to a Shia-Sunni conspiracy in Pakistan after Iran imported the vegetable into the country.

In our Fact Check, we found that the tomatoes were destroyed by people in Mangochar, Kalat district of Balochistan, where local landlords protested against importing tomatoes from Iran. One person has been arrested following the incident. There is no mention of any communal angle in any reports or any Shia-Sunni conspiracy, as mentioned by netizens. Thus, we can ascertain that the claim is false.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.

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