Claim: Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said “For Pakistan’s better future, former Prime Minister Imran Khan must be brought back.”
Fact: The claim is false since there is no evidence that the judge made this statement. It is also unlikely he said this as the judicial code of conduct prohibits judges from engaging in public controversy, particularly on political matters.
Social media users have widely shared (archive) a statement attributed to Justice Mansoor Ali Shah:
“پاکستان کے بہتر مستقبل کیلئے سابقہ وزیراعظم عمران خان صاحب کو دوبارہ لانا ہوگا
جسٹس منصور علی شاہ کا بیان”
[Translation: “For Pakistan’s better future, former Prime Minister Imran Khan must be brought back.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s statement”
The statement is being circulated as a direct quote from Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah was appointed to the Lahore High Court in 2009, served as its Chief Justice for nearly two years and was elevated to the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2018. Internationally, he is a judicial member of the Global Judicial Institute on Environment, an Honorary Bencher at Lincoln’s Inn (UK), and a member of Yale University’s Global Constitutionalism initiative.
In September 2024, former Prime Minister Imran Khan endorsed Justice Mansoor Ali Shah as Pakistan’s next chief justice, urging an early announcement of his appointment. Speaking from Adiala Jail, he accused the government of trying to destroy the judiciary and appointing judges to cover up election fraud.
Khan also endorsed Justice Shah’s stance on the Practice and Procedure Ordinance while criticising the judiciary’s decisions. He accused former Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa of having a political agenda and claimed PTI’s legal petitions were being ignored.
Fact or Fiction?
The claim is suspicious as if a sitting judge had indeed made such a comment, it would have been widely reported in the news. However, there are no such reports, and a keyword search of the alleged statement, along with Justice Shah’s name, did not yield relevant results.
Additionally, the Article V of the Code of Conduct for Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts of Pakistan explicitly prohibits judges from engaging in public controversy, especially on political matters.
We reviewed the Facebook account that shared the claim, and its “About” section appeared dubious. The introduction reads: “My name is Khubiab I love Imran Khan plz support me.” This informal wording indicates that the page is likely run by a PTI supporter rather than being a credible news source. Additionally, it is categorised under “property,” further raising doubts about its authenticity.
Analysing the account’s recent posts revealed multiple instances of false and misleading information. For example, on 12 March 2025, following the Jaffar Express attack in Balochistan, the page shared a post claiming:
“پی ٹی آئی کا بلوچستان سانحے پر یوم سوگ منانے پر غور”
“پی ٹی آئی کا شہدا کا ملک بھر میں غائبانہ نماز جنازہ پڑھنے پر غور”
“پی ٹی آئی کا شہدا کی فیملیز کے ساتھ کھڑے ہونے کا فیصلہ”
However, a keyword search did not yield any evidence of such statements or plans from PTI members.
Another post from 10 March claimed that Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital raised 37 crores in three hours, yet no supporting evidence or credible reports confirm this. A keyword search did not produce any relevant results.
Given the account’s pattern of sharing false and misleading information without evidence, this claim is also likely false.
Since lawyers involved in the Supreme Court cannot comment on sitting judges, we reached out to Ali Javed Darugar, Advocate of the High Courts and partner at PrimeLegalCo. With relevant legal expertise and familiarity with judicial proceedings to provide insight on the matter, he confirmed, “Justice Shah did not make any such statement.” He reaffirmed that, under the code of conduct applicable to judges of the superior judiciary, Justice Shah is not permitted to make such remarks. “The code prohibits judges from engaging in public controversy, especially on political matters, even if they involve legal questions,” he added.
Virality
The claim garnered significant traction on Facebook receiving over 13,000 likes and 2,800 shares. It was shared here, here, here, here, and here. Archived here, here, here, here, and here.
On X, it was shared here, here, and here. Archived here, here, and here.
It was also shared here (archive) on TikTok.
Conclusion: The claim that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said former Prime Minister Imran Khan should be brought back for Pakistan’s better future is false. There is no evidence to support the claim, and the code of conduct for judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts does not permit them to make such statements. Additionally, the Facebook page that shared the claim lacks credibility.
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Background image in cover photo: Business Recorder
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