Claim: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s lawyer said during a media talk that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief told him to convey the following message to his supporters:
“Tell the nation that if martial law is imposed by [army chief] Asim Munir, you have to stand strongly for the rule of law.”
Fact: The lawyer did indeed give this statement in a video posted by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s official account on Twitter.
On 10 May 2023, former prime minister Imran Khan appeared before Judge Mohammad Bashir at the makeshift National Accountability Bureau (NAB) court at the Police Lines Islamabad on corruption charges in the Al-Qadir Trust case, which he denies.
The accountability court granted the NAB an eight-day remand of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief.
Khan was arrested by Pakistan Rangers from the Islamabad High Court’s premises on 9 May 2023.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared the arrest legal. Khan’s arrest has sparked nationwide protests.
Fact or Fiction?
On 10 May 2023, Twitter user Justuju – جستجو (@justujuuu) posted a video of Imran Khan’s lawyer during which he can be heard saying that the PTI chief told him to tell the nation that “if martial law is imposed by [army chief] Asim Munir, you have to stand strongly for the rule of law”.
Khan’s legal team met him at the Police Lines Guest House in Islamabad’s H-11, which is serving as a courtroom as a one-time dispensation.
Some social media users pointed out that the clip is fake and doctored because the video and audio are out of sync, and lip movements don’t match the words either.
Soch Fact Check found that a longer version of the clip was posted by PTI (@PTIofficial) on their official Twitter account. In the 9 minute 37 seconds video, the lawyer can be heard saying between the time stamp 1:54 to 2:22 that when the legal team informed Khan that his arrest has sparked nationwide protests, he told them to convey the following message to the nation:
“Tell the nation that if martial law is imposed by [army chief] Asim Munir, you have to stand strongly for the rule of law.”
While the short clip being shared on social media is out of sync and created confusion, Khan’s lawyer did say that the former premier has asked the nation to stand for the rule of law in case martial law is imposed by army chief General Syed Asim Munir in Pakistan.
Conclusion: Imran Khan’s lawyer did say that Khan told him to tell the nation that they must stand strongly for the rule of law, if martial law is imposed in Pakistan.