By Srijit Das
An old video of Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visiting a temple on the eve of Diwali in 2016, has been revived and shared by Indian Facebook users out of context.
BOOM found that the video is not recent and is nearly six years old. Several right-wing Facebook users have also shared the video in connection to the ongoing Gyanvapi Mosque dispute where Hindu litigants claim that a Shivling was found inside the ablution area of the mosque.
The video, which is about two minutes long, shows Bhutto visiting a Shiva temple in Pakistan and partaking in the puja (prayer ritual).
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and former Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, was recently appointed as the country's foreign minister.
The Hindi caption with the video translates to, 'former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's son Bilawal Bhutto offers his prayers at Shiva temple, believe it or not, the world is changing'.
(Original text in Hindi: पाकिस्तान की पूर्व PM बेनजीर भुट्टो का बेटा बिलावल भुट्टो शिव मंदिर में पूजा अर्चना करते हुए, मानो या ना मानो दुनिया बदल रही है…)
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Fact Check
In the video, Bilawal Bhutto is seen giving a speech about celebrating Diwali in Pakistan.
Taking a cue from this, we ran a keyword search on YouTube and found several videos published in 2016 showing the same scenes.
News outlet Hindustan's official YouTube channel Live Hindustan uploaded the video on November 3, 2016 with a caption saying, "Bilawal Bhutto Zardari prayer Shiva Temple in Karachi on Diwali".
The report carrying the same visuals can be seen below.
Pakistan Peoples Party also tweeted a video on October 31, 2016 which shows Bhutto's visit to a Shiva temple in Karachi, Pakistan.
Click here to view the tweet.
We also found a ABP News article published on November 5, 2016 about his visit to the temple.
"PPP's Vice-president Sherry Rehman, ministers of Sindh province and other party leaders are with Bilawal who vice visited the Shiva temple at Clifton Road in Karachi on the eve of Diwali celebrations. Bilawal, is seen performing all the religious rites and rituals on Diwali", stated the report.
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