Army, police to jointly investigate Bahawalnagar incident: ISPR

RAWALPINDI: After short video clips showing dozens of masked men wearing military garbs thrashing cops in Bahawalnagar went viral on social media, the Pakistan Army and the Punjab Police have decided to jointly investigate the incident, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Friday.

The military's media wing in a statement said an unfortunate incident occurred in Bahawalnagar recently, which was promptly addressed and resolved through collaborative efforts of military and police authorities.

“Despite this, certain factions with vested motives started fanning vitriolic propaganda on social media to create divisions between state institutions and government departments,” the statement read.

“To ensure a fair and deliberate inquiry, and to determine responsibility for violation of laws and misuse of authority, a joint inquiry comprising security and police officials will be conducted for ascertaining the facts and apportioning responsibility,” it concluded.

A string of videos went viral which purportedly showed men in army uniforms beating up police personnel in Bahawalnagar, which drew criticism from different segments of social media.

Later on Wednesday, the Punjab Police objurgated “fake propaganda” on social media platforms, saying in a post on X that the matter has been taken out of context.