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       Since July 17, 2025, there have been posts from multiple users on social media platform X sharing a video of a convoy of buses, claiming that it showed military and police personnel being sent back to Punjab for disciplinary proceedings after refusing to fight in Balochistan. However, the video is from June 2025 and is not linked to the military.

       There has been an increase in the frequency of attacks against security forces in Balochistan in recent times. Last week, three people were killed and seven others were injured as a passenger bus came under fire in Kalat.

       Security forces routinely conduct operations against militancy in the province.

       On July 17, an anti-state account on X shared a video showing a convoy of buses moving along a road, with the word “Quetta” displayed in the top-right corner, implying the location.

       The caption of the post read: “Breaking News: Big win for Republic of Balochistan. We told you Balochistan is too big to swallow. Over 500 Pakistani army and police personnel who refused to fight against Baloch freedom fighters are reportedly being transported back to Punjab in convoys of buses. These surrendered soldiers are now expected to face court-martial proceedings upon their return — a rare and significant development highlighting internal dissent within the security forces deployed in Balochistan.”

       Notably, the post did not mention the source of the alleged development or provide any link to a credible news report about the matter. It also did not provide other specific contextual details such as which regions or regiments the alleged security personnel were posted in or when the video was from.

       The post was viewed 132,000 times.

       The clip with the same claim was also shared by other users, including Indian propaganda accounts, as can be seen here, here, here and here, gaining 207,000, 212,000, 245,000, and 97,000 views, respectively.

       Other shares of the same claim can be found here, here, here, here, here and here.

       A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality, keen interest in Balochistan’s security issues and the potential to adversely influence public perception, impacting the province’s law and order situation.

       While there was no possible way to conclusively determine the passengers in the buses, since the windows seemed to be covered up and the video did not show passengers getting on or off, the claim linked to the video raised more questions than it answered.

       Notably, the video did not show any military or police presence or vehicles escorting the convoy of buses.

       One of the buses also showed an electronic car for children among the luggage at the top of the vehicle.

       A keyword search for the transport companies whose buses were shown in the video yielded two TikTok accounts for “Al Yasir Movers”, both of which said the business operated on the route from Quetta to Taftan, a border town with Iran.

       Contacting the account owner on the number provided, he also said the service operated only on the above route.

       Moreover, the video features a board of Chaghi LPG Pvt Ltd, a gas importer based in Balochistan. Contacting a company representative for comment, they said that it operated its services, including billboards and signage, only in and around Taftan.

       The same was also corroborated by Dawn‘s Quetta correspondent, Saleem Shahid. He confirmed that the company’s boards were set up in Dalbandin and Noshki. Both towns are located along the Quetta-Taftan route.

       A reverse image search led to the same clip posted by a TikTok account on June 22, almost a month before the current situation in Balochistan.

       A frame-by-frame analysis confirmed that the viral clip and the originally shared video were the same.

       The TikTok account frequently shares similar videos of buses and other vehicles travelling on deserted roads. The context of these videos remains unclear due to the lack of captions or accompanying explanations, as the account does not provide any context, but none of them feature army vehicles or personnel.

       Additionally, a keyword search yielded no news reports from credible media outlets or source-based accounts regarding the return of 500 security personnel for insubordination and refusing to fight in Balochistan either during the current timeframe or from around when the video was originally shared on June 22.

       Therefore, the fact-check determined that the claim that a viral video shows hundreds of Pakistan Army and police personnel being taken back to Punjab for disciplinary proceedings for refusing to fight in Balochistan is false.

       The video does not show any military vehicles or any army presence and the account that originally shared it shares many similar videos of convoys and transport vehicles without any presence of security forces.

       This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.