Fact check: Viral video does not show Baloch female activist killed by police; footage is from Afghanistan

Viral video is from Afghanistan and shows a woman reportedly killed by her husband in Ghor province

Several people have been sharing a video on social media platform X since Monday, claiming that it shows the body of a female activist in Balochistan killed by police after being detained for three months and subjected to severe torture. However, the video actually shows a woman who was allegedly tortured and killed by her husband in Afghanistan’s Ghor province last month.

How it started

A day ago, an X user who appears to be pro-Afghanistan, based on the account’s previous posts, and who frequently shares content critical of Pakistan’s military and political institutions, posted a video showing the body of a woman with the following caption: “Brutal murder of a 32-year-old female activist in Balochistan. Pakistani police have killed a 32-year-old female activist following three months of detention as a result of severe torture.”

The caption further claimed that the woman’s family said that “various parts of her body were burned with hot iron rods before she was killed”.

Today, another X user shared the same video with a similar caption. That post received 35,800 views.

The video was also shared the same day by YouTuber Adil Raja with the following caption: “Gruesome murder of a 32-year-old female activist in Balochistan. Pakistani police allegedly subjected a 32-year-old female activist to severe torture after three months in custody, resulting in her death. Is this Asim Munir's 'hard state'? And is this the work of Mohsin Naqvi's SHO?”

His post gained 31,500 views.

The video was later shared by multiple other X users, as shown here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Methodology

 

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and significant public interest in instances of custodial killings.

A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video yielded a news report published by Afghan media outlet 8AM Media, also known as Hasht-e-Subh Daily, on Oct 4, 2026, titled “The gruesome murder of Nuria in Ghor; a woman tortured and killed before her children’s eyes.”

The report said the woman was 32-year-old Nuria, who was killed in Tangi Sarpanak village, Taywara district, Ghor province, Afghanistan. According to sources cited by the outlet, she was severely beaten and allegedly tortured with a heated iron rod by her husband in front of her children.

The report said she died from her injuries and that her husband later confessed to the killing and surrendered to the Taliban. It also stated that the incident had taken place around 14 days before the article was published.

A subsequent keyword search using terms related to the woman’s name, age, location and manner of death found that several other Afghan media outlets had reported on the same incident.

Kabul Times News, in a report published on Oct 4, also identified the victim as 32-year-old Nuria and said she died after being beaten and tortured by her husband in Tangi Sarpanak village.

KabulNow, in an article published on Oct 5, also reported that a 32-year-old woman named Nuria was tortured and killed in Taywara district of Ghor province, allegedly by her husband in front of their four children.

Another report by Exile TV, published on Oct 5, said the incident occurred on September 20, 2026, following an argument involving Nuria and her mother-in-law. The outlet reported that her husband allegedly assaulted her and burned parts of her body with a heated iron rod before she died from her injuries.

These reports consistently placed the incident in Ghor province, Afghanistan, and identified the alleged perpetrator as the woman’s husband, contradicting the viral claim that the footage showed a female activist killed by Pakistani police in Balochistan.

Fact-check status: false

The claim that a viral video shows the body of an activist killed by the police in Balochistan is false.

The footage is from Afghanistan’s Ghor province and shows the body of a 32-year-old woman who was reported to have been tortured and killed by her husband in September 2026.