Old Video Of Hafiz Saeed Going Viral Linking To Operation Sindoor.

A video of Lashkar-e-Taiba co-founder Hafiz Saeed went viral on social media, claiming it to be his interview after Operation Sindoor. 

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However, as we investigated, we came to know that the claim was misleading. The viral video is old and unrelated to Operation Sindoor. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

We started our investigation by taking some screenshots from the viral video and conducting a reverse image search. This led us to a report published in India Today on 6 February 2017, which contained an image similar to the screenshots from the viral video. According to the report, the mastermind of the Mumbai terror attack, the chief of Jamat-ud-Dawa, Hafiz Saeed, along with at least 35 of his associates, have since then been under house arrest, while protests, rallies and legal petitions have been going on, in which, it has been demanded that the government should release them with immediate effect. Hafiz Saeed had been put under house arrest in his headquarters in Lahore. 

Please read here.

Moving forward, we found the viral video on the official YouTube channel of AP Archive, uploaded on 5 February 2017. According to the description, the video is from 31 January 2017. The description of the video read, “(31 Jan 2017) Pakistan has placed the leader of a charity linked to a militant group under house arrest.

Hafiz Saeed, whose Jamaat-ud-Dawa is a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks, was placed under house arrest along with four aides.

Azam Suleman, the top security official in the eastern Punjab province, ordered the five to be detained for 90 days after the government vowed to act against the charity and an affiliate known as the Falah Insaniat Foundation.

Saeed is wanted by the US government, which has offered a 10 million US dollar reward.

Pakistan has long tolerated Lashkar-e-Taiba and other Islamic militant groups, viewing them as allies against its archrival, India.

The United Nations Security Council labelled the charity a ‘terrorist front group’ in 2008.”

Another video report can be seen on the YouTube channel Zee News on 31 January 2017.

Other reports can be seen here and here.

This makes it clear that the viral video is old and unrelated to Operation Sindoor.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the claim is misleading. The video showing an Interview of Hafiz Saeed is from 2017. This has no link to Operation Sindoor.