Claim: A viral video shows Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa eating a doughnut during a Supreme Court session.
Fact: The video is doctored; it appears that a clip from a Supreme Court session was manipulated.
On 27 September, a video showing the Chief Justice of Pakistan eating a doughnut during a Supreme Court session was uploaded on YouTube. It was also shared across social media platforms, including here on Facebook.
Chief Justice of Pakistan
CJP Qazi Faez Isa was sworn in as the 29th Chief Justice of Pakistan in September 2023. Since then, some of his decisions have provoked criticism from different factions.
For instance, in January 2024, the Supreme Court annulled the Peshawar High Court’s order to reinstate Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s ‘bat’ symbol , and deprived the party of its electoral symbol for the General Elections 2024. The judgement upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to revoke the symbol, citing the PTI’s failure to produce sufficient evidence that intra-party elections were held, according to Dawn’s report which quoted from the SC judgement. “According to the court, the ECP did not act in a mala fide manner nor was the PTI discriminated against in the present case,” the report added. The decision sparked anger amongst PTI members and supporters.
During a Supreme Court hearing on the formation of election tribunals, tensions rose between the Chief Justice and PTI lawyer Niazullah Niazi. Niazi objected to CJP Isa’s inclusion in the bench, which he swiftly dismissed, criticising Niazi’s actions as contempt of the judiciary. The Express Tribune report further elaborated that the incident is part of ongoing tensions between the judiciary and PTI lawyers, with previous hearings witnessing similar clashes.
Moreover, in February 2024, the Supreme Court granted bail to an Ahmadi community member ruling that blasphemy charges against him did not stand. The man, accused of blasphemy for distributing Islamic literature, had been in jail for 13 months, the report added. The decision resulted in a smear campaign against CJP Isa, which was condemned by the SC and Pakistan Bar Council. The controversy over his remarks intensified as political parties like PTI, JUI-F, and Jamaat-e-Islami joined the movement. These parties urged CJP to revisit his verdict in the case, adding a political layer to the already heated debate, according to The Express Tribune.
Crusteez Incident
On 25 September, a video began circulating on social media platforms from when the CJP visited a local doughnut shop in Islamabad with his family and was disrespected by an employee at the outlet. In the video, the Chief Justice is accompanied by his daughter and wife at an outlet of Crusteez Donuts. As his daughter begins to place the order, an employee inquires “Aap Isa Faez hain?” [Are you Isa Faez], not receiving a response, the employee repeats his question. Qazi Faez Isa eventually replied, “Kyun?” [Why?], to this the employee responds, “Laanat ho aap pe” [Curse you].
On 25 September, The Nation journalist Ali Hamza took to X to clarify that “Btw the video is from last month after the Mubarak Sani judgment…”
The video led to disinformation and prompted significant online reactions. In light of this, Soch Fact Check debunked the false claim that Crusteez Donuts was sealed in Islamabad. In addition, a video showing a Crusteez employee praising the CJP was shared widely online. However, we identified that the video was doctored.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check conducted a reverse search of keyframes from the viral video and traced them to a live stream of a Supreme Court session on the Plea Against Law Limiting CJP Powers. Throughout the stream, the camera repeatedly cuts to the Chief Justice, suggesting that the doctored clip was likely taken from this or another Supreme Court live stream.
The viral clip is clearly manipulated, as the colour of the video is highly saturated unlike typical live streams of Supreme Court hearings that can be found here. Additionally, the doughnut appears suddenly in the Chief Justice’s hand, and he seems to be eating it before we even see him biting into the dessert.
The video continues and at the 0:06 mark, we can observe the area around his mouth turn black as he bites into the doughnut, which further indicates tampering. Toward the end of the clip, his movements become unnatural, and his face appears increasingly distorted.
Virality
The video gained significant traction on Facebook, amassing over 95,000 likes and 21,000 shares.
It was shared here, here, and here on Facebook.
On X it was shared here.
It was also shared on Instagram here and here.
On YouTube it was shared here.
Conclusion: The viral video showing CJP Qazi Faez Isa eating a doughnut during a Supreme Court session is doctored.
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Background image in cover photo: The News
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