Fact check: Viral video does not show Peshawar BRT buses being moved to Punjab after governor's rule in K-P
Several social media users, many of whom appear to be supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and pro-Afghan accounts, based on their profiles and posts, have been sharing visuals across multiple social media platforms since Wednesday, claiming that they show buses being transferred from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to Punjab following the imposition of governor's rule in the province. However, the visuals date back to August and are unrelated to the situation in K-P.
The federal government imposed an emergency and governor’s rule in K-P on Sunday following the president’s approval of the recommendations by the federal cabinet. The measures have been approved under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution.
The decision to impose the emergency provisions came during an emergency meeting of the federal cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, where he was briefed on the security situation in K-P. Cabinet members reviewed the situation and took note of the “provincial government’s deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism”, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
A couple of hours after the imposition of emergency was announced, K-P Information Minister Shafi Jan, who had been accompanying now-dysfunctional K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on the PTI’s long march, claimed the latter had been taken into custody.
Later, the PTI issued a statement, condemning the “arrest” of Afridi and others and describing it as an act of “political victimisation and an attempt to weaken the province’s elected leadership and democratic institutions”.
Communication and internet services have also been disrupted in the province.
How it started
On Wednesday, an X account that appeared to be pro-Afghanistan, based on its previous posts, shared a video with the following caption: "Following the imposition of governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 200 Peshawar BRT buses have been transferred to Punjab under the cover of darkness. Analysts say Punjab is attempting to take advantage of the governor's rule to seize Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's mineral resources and other assets."
The post gained 92,500 views.
The video was also shared by another pro-PTI account on the same day, repeating the same claim. The post gained 82,000 views.
Subsequently, the same claim was shared by several other users on X, as seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. The claim was also shared on Facebook.
Methodology
A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in K-P’s situation after the changes to its governance and the information gap amid the connectivity and internet issues.
A reverse image search was conducted to trace the source of the video, which yielded the same visual shared by several social media accounts in August 2026.
A TikTok user shared the same video on August 28, 2026, with a caption referring to a BRT bus in the Gulmuhmad area of Peshawar. The post described the footage as an update regarding the local BRT service.
A day later, on August 29, 2026, a TikTok user shared the same video, stating that a new fleet of Chinese-manufactured BRT buses had arrived in Peshawar after being shipped through Karachi port, marking a major upgrade to the city's public transport system.
Following the reverse image search, a keyword search was conducted, which led to a ProPakistani report published on August 27, 2026, titled "Peshawar BRT to Get 52 New Buses."
The report stated that the K-P government had purchased 52 new buses to expand Peshawar's BRT fleet. Of these, 25 had arrived at Karachi port from China, while the remaining 27 had been dispatched. The addition of these buses was expected to increase the fleet from 244 to 296 vehicles.
Another report by ARY News, published on August 30, 2026, titled "Peshawar BRT holds largest bus fleet in Pakistan, says Muzamil Aslam," quoted K-P Chief Minister's Adviser on Finance Muzzammil Aslam as saying that the province had received 25 new BRT buses, with another 27 expected to arrive from China. He stated that the fleet expansion would bring the total number of buses to 296, making Peshawar's BRT fleet the largest in Pakistan.
The Peshawar BRT administration also refuted claims circulating on social media that its buses were being relocated from Peshawar, stating: “It should be clear that this news is completely baseless and misleading.”
It clarified that the video being shared was from the time “when the BRT buses were being brought to Peshawar”.
Fact-check status: False
The claim that viral visuals show 200 Peshawar BRT buses being transferred to Punjab following the imposition of governor's rule in K-P is misleading.
The visuals date back to August 2026 and relate to the arrival of newly purchased buses for Peshawar's BRT system.