Claim: Ali Amin Gandapur, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) politician and the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) is lying about his abduction and arrest at the KPK CM House as leaked footage shows he is walking with police officials willingly.
Fact: The video in question shows a different politician, Pakhtoon Yar Khan. It does not show Ali Amin Gandapur.
On 5 October 2024, Ali Amin Gandapur entered Islamabad with thousands of protestors who had been gathering for the D-chowk rally announced by the PTI the day before. In response to the rally, the federal government enforced Section 144 in the capital, which disallows public gatherings. They also urged PTI to postpone the demonstration citing the presence of foreign dignitaries in the city. The police arrested 400 individuals in anticipation of the rally in Islamabad. In Lahore, the Punjab home secretary also imposed Section 144.
Gandapur is embroiled in legal battles, along with several PTI politicians who are currently in jail. A special anti-terrorism judge extended his pre-arrest bail on 4 October till 17 October. His lawyer also submitted an application seeking an exemption from personal appearance due to official engagements, which the court approved. The state news channel, PTV reported heavy preemptive ‘security arrangements’ in anticipation of the protests. Despite these arrangements, many protesters, led by Gandapur, entered the capital. On their way, this caravan succeeded in overcoming the cordon and removing the containers through physical confrontation with the anti-riot police.
On 6 October, at 11 am, social media reports began surfacing as members of the party condemned the alleged abduction and arrest of Ali Amin Gandapur despite him having secured pre-arrest bail. The police issued a statement claiming that Gandapur is not under arrest with any of the state’s institutions. Later in the evening, on the same day, Gandapur was reproduced in the KP Assembly where he addressed the provincial assembly and claimed that Islamabad’s inspector-general (IG) of police and the Pakistan Rangers, had “raided the KP House, sealed its gates, and misbehaved with staff and women.” He also alleged that the rangers and the police directly attacked citizens protesting with PTI, that he was at the KP residence as it was raided 4 times in one night, where security officials refused to charge him with any crime or make a formal arrest. He further added that he will be filing a case against IGP Islamabad.
Earlier on the same day, the KP assembly passed a resolution demanding that Gandapur be presented within 24 hours. Dawn reported PTI politician Asad Qaiser gave an ultimatum to the government, likening Gandapur’s disappearance to an attack on the whole country.
Fact or Fiction?
PTI’s Chief Digital Strategist Azhar Mashwani published a tweet with a clarification that the man shown in the CCTV footage in the claim is not Ali Amin Gandapur, it is in fact provincial minister Pakhtun Yar Khan, who has a similar height and built as Ali Amin Gandapur. The tweet shared a video of Khan and a pictures with the following caption:
صوبائی وزیر پختون یار خان کی تصویر کو علی امین گنڈاپور کی تصویر بنا کر پیش کی گئی
ان بےغیرتوں کو جھوٹ بولتے شرم بھی نہیں آتی
[Translation: Provincial minister Pakhtoon Yar Khan’s image is being falsely presented as Ali Amin Gandapur’s image. These shameless people find no shame in lying.]
The video shows Khan wearing a gas mask and saying to the camera that several people have reached D-chowk to follow Imran Khan’s orders to protest. The photograph also clearly shows his face and the clothes he was wearing match those of the man in the CCTV footage being wrongly identified as Gandapur.
Soch Fact Check found this to be true. Pakhtoon Yar Khan’s profile can be viewed on the official KPK provincial assembly website.
The posts sharing the video claimed that Ali Amin Gandapur went inside the KP CM House in dark blue clothes, changed his outfit, and was seen coming out in light-coloured clothes in the footage in the claim. It is important to note that Gandapur arrived at the KP Assembly later on the same day wearing the same dark-coloured clothes.
Virality
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) shared the claim on their Facebook page, which received more than 100,000 views.
On Facebook, it was also shared here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The viral video actually shows KP minister Pakhtoon Yar Khan, not Ali Amin Gandapur..
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Background image in cover photo: Minute Mirror
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