Fact Check: Old IUML rally falsely shared as pro-Pakistan march after Pahalgam terror attack

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As tensions soar between Indian and Pakistan over the Pahalgam tragedy, a video is being widely shared with the claim that “Kerala Muslims are taking out a rally in support of Pakistan. The traitors are spared by the state govt.” While others claimed that the youngsters were carrying a ‘Pakistani national flag.’

Sharing the video on YouTube, a user wrote, “We have more enemies within the country than outside.”

The viral claim link is here and the archive link here.

Here’s the screenshot of the viral post.

Fact Check:

During the investigation, the Telugupost fact check team found the claim that Muslims of Kerala had taken out a pro-Pakistan rally is false.

When we checked the viral video, we found that the young men were carrying the green flags with a crescent moon and a star symbol and a similar symbol can be found on their green t-shirts with the word, ‘Arangadi’.

Using this information, we ran a search in Google and came across a tweet from July 2024 which shows a similar rally from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) political party’s office.

The X user captioned his post with these words:

“Arangadi written on the t-shirts. Arnagadi a village in Kasaragod district Kerala. The waving flag is of the All India Muslim League.”

When we compare the t-shirts worn by the youth in the rally and the jersey of the Pakistani cricket team, it becomes evident that both the attires are different.

Similarly, the green flag shown in the rally represents the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) political party in Kerala, which is often mistaken for the Pakistani flag. According to Wikipedia, the design of the nation flag of Pakistan shows a ‘white star and crescent on a dark green field, with a vertical white stripe at the hoist.’

The other noticeable feature is the crescent moon and a star is facing towards the hoist in the IUML flag while it is placed in the opposite direction on the neighbouring country’s national flag.

In the viral video, we could hear the protesters chanting a slogan in favour of Sayyid Sadiqali Shihab Thangal, a leader of the IUML, who took over the reins of the League after the demise of Syed Hyder Ali Shihab Thangal in 2022. There’s no mention of “Pahalgam” or “Pakistan” in it.

Taking cue from the above information, we performed several Google searches across social media and found the original video on an Instagram page titled arangadi_official_page which was posted on April 16, 2025.

As we continued our search, we found a Facebook post on IUML - Kerala state party’s page announcing the party’s 'Maha Rally' against the Waqf Amendment Act at Kozhikode Beach on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

The social media post carried a poster which reads, “Amarinder Singh Raja, Warring MP, who challenged the Waqf Amendment in Parliament will join us as our chief guest.”

The IUML-led protest against the Waqf Amendment Act drew lakhs of people to the Kozhikode beach and the demonstration was covered by Maktoob Media. The media outlet reports, “IUML state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal inaugurated the demonstration. In his speech, he expressed hope that the Supreme Court would revoke the “anti-constitutional” Act. The Indian Union Muslim League has also filed a petition against the Act in the Supreme Court.”

From the above investigation, it is evident that the viral video shows a rally taken out by the supporters of IUML party in Kozhikode during the Waqf Amendment Act protest organised on April 16, 2025. The rally neither shows a Pakistan flag nor jerseys as the IUML flag and its party symbols have been misrepresented to give it a communal colour. Hence, the claims are false.