On April 22, at least 26 tourists were killed and more than 20 injured in a horrific armed attack in Pahalgam, located in the Anantnag district of Indian-administered Kashmir. Following this incident, a claim began to circulate stating that a meeting had taken place between Bangladesh’s legal advisor Dr. Asif Nazrul and Hefazat-e-Islam leader Mufti Harun Izahar. Along with the claim, a photo showing them together was also shared. The claim was promoted by Sajeeb Wazed Joy on his Facebook page and was also circulated by certain Indian media outlets.
See the reports from Indian media regarding this claim: Republic, The CSR Journal, News Arena India.
See some posts circulated on Facebook regarding this claim: here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive).
See posts circulated on X regarding the same claim: here (archive), here (archive), here (archive).
Fact-check
Rumor Scanner’s investigation found that the meeting between Legal Advisor Dr. Asif Nazrul and Hefazat leader Mufti Harun Izahar did not take place after the armed attack in Pahalgam, Anantnag district of Indian-administered Kashmir. It actually happened the day before, on April 21. The main topic of the meeting was the withdrawal of harassment cases filed against Islamist and Hefazat leaders during the previous Awami League regime.
In the investigation about the widely shared photo, a Facebook post by Harun Izahar, published on April 23, was found. In the post, he said that they had been holding discussions with government authorities for a long time to ensure legal support for the oppressed. As part of that effort, they held a private meeting with the Legal Advisor last Monday, where they gave a detailed briefing.
This confirms that the photo was taken on Monday, April 21, during the meeting between Dr. Asif Nazrul and Mufti Harun Izahar.
In a Facebook post published on April 23, Dr. Asif Nazrul said that during the previous Awami League government, Islamic scholars were subjected to various forms of oppression and harassment, including false legal cases. He added that some Hefazat leaders had recently submitted a list of these cases, and steps were now being taken to withdraw the politically motivated ones.
So, according to Dr. Asif Nazrul, the meeting with Hefazat leaders happened “a few days ago.”
To confirm the facts, Rumor Scanner collected original files of several photos from Mufti Harun Izahar, including the one that went viral. A check of the photos’ metadatashowed they were taken on April 21 at 10:49 AM.
Conclusion
Therefore, the claim that Legal Advisor Dr. Asif Nazrul and Hefazat leader Mufti Harun Izahar met after the Kashmir attack is misleading.
Sources
- Metadata analysis.
- Harun Izhar: Facebook Post
- Dr. Asif Nazrul: Facebook Post
