Fact Check: Viral video of a young boy performing Namaz in the middle of the road is not from Pakistan

The video also shows a uniformed official asking the boy to move elsewhere, but he continues to pray on the road. Pakistani-Canadian journalist Tarek Fatah shared the video with the caption: “How does one country produce so many rectums? How does Pakistan do it?”

The same claim was shared by other netizens as well.

FACT CHECK:

The fact check team made the following observations to conclude that the incident in the viral video did not take place in Pakistan.

1) Uniform of official:

The uniform of the official in the video has the word “Security” written on the back of his shirt. Along with that, other text in Arabic, which roughly translates to “Guard”, can be seen. Taking this as a hint, the team performed a keyword search and found a photo of an “Arkan” -- a security company that offers services in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We found several videos of an Arkan security guard on YouTube. The uniform matched that of the security guard in the viral video.

2) License plates:

The license plates of the vehicles seen in the video contained five-digit numbers and looked very similar to vehicle registration plates of the UAE, especially Dubai. We found different kinds of vehicle registration plates in Pakistan but did not find any with five digits.

In the video, a TikTok userhandle “ajom75uddin” can be seen. The team performed a keyword search and found a Facebook profile by the name of Mohammed Ajom Uddin who has the same TikTok username. Moreover, he posted the same viral video on his page on January 6. According to his profile, Ajom Uddin is based in Dubai, UAE.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1370462743780553/?s=single_unit

Although the team could not identify where the video was shot, it is evident that the viral footage did not originate in Pakistan. Thus, the claim is false.