Claim: A photo shows slain journalist Arshad Sharif’s family gathered around his coffin to mourn his loss.
Fact: The photo does not show Arshad Sharif’s coffin. The image began circulating on social media in August 2022, a month before Sharif’s death.
Fact or Fiction?
On 26 October 2022, Twitter user Rana Usman Parvaiz (@UsmanRana05) shared a photo suggesting it shows slain journalist Arshad Sharif’s coffin.
“We all are responsible. He didn’t deserve this. Really sorry #ArshadSharifShaheed,” he captioned the photo.
Sharif’s dead body was brought back to Islamabad on 26 October after he was killed by Kenyan Police over ‘ mistaken identity.’
Soch Fact Check found the claim to be misleading after a Google Lens search revealed that the same image had been shared on social media in August 2022, with claims that it shows Brigadier Muhammad Khalid Shaheed’s coffin. The officer had embraced martyrdom in a helicopter crash during flood relief activities.
On 4 August 2022, Twitter user Shanila Afaq (@ShanilaAfaq18) tweeted the photo. “Son and daughter of Brig Khalid Shaheed with their baba for the last time. May Allah Almighty elevate his ranks in Jannah and grant sabar to the family!! Aameen #Pakistan #PakistanArmy #Helicoptercrash,” her tweet reads.
Soch Fact Check also found other tweets, including here and here from August stating the same. Facebook page Umer Hayat Shaheed shared the same photo on 5 August 2022 with the caption, “Brave family of Brigadier Khalid Shaheed #HelicopterCrash #PakistanArmy #pakarmydefenders.”
Virality
The claim was also shared by Neo News Urdu on Twitter. The outlet shared the photo with the caption, “سینئر صحافی ارشد شریف کا جسد خاکی اسلام آباد پہنچا دیا گیا [The body of senior journalist Arshad Sharif has been brought to Pakistan].”
Journalists Imran Riaz Khan and Sabir Shakir also shared the viral photo dedicating verses to Sharif but later deleted their tweets.
Rana Usman Parvaiz’s tweet received 333 likes, 13 replies and 116 retweets while Neo News Urdu’s tweet gained 108 likes, 12 retweets and 10 quote tweets.
On Facebook, Unity News shared the same photo.
Conclusion: The photo doing the rounds on social media does not show Arshad Sharif’s coffin. It is an old photo from August 2022. According to some social media users, it shows Brigadier Muhammad Khalid Shaheed’ family but Soch Fact Check cannot confirm the veracity of this.