Claim: Geo News published Zulfi Bukhari’s statement claiming that since he is a British citizen, he will not be able to come to Pakistan for Al-Qadir Trust case hearings.
Fact: The screenshot is doctored. Geo News did not publish any such statement by Zulfi Bukhari.
On 24 May 2023, a screenshot of what appears to be a Geo News bulletin went viral online. It claimed that PTI’s Zulfi Bukhari said, “برطانوی شہری ہوں، القادرکیس میں پیش ہونے پاکستان نہیں آسکتا: زلفی بخاری” [Translation: I am a British citizen, I can not come to Pakistan just for the hearings in Al-Qadir Trust case.]
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check found this claim to be false. We went through Geo News Urdu’s social media handles as well as their website to look for any posts containing the terms:
“برطانوی شہری”
“زلفی”, and
“بخاری”
But we found no evidence of this bulletin having been shared by the publication.
Additionally, Geo News Urdu’s digital editor Manzar Elahi posted a tweet confirming that this bulletin was doctored.. In the caption, he wrote, “This is fake news. Geo News did not report/post this story on any of its platforms. #FakeNews”
Virality
On Facebook, we found the claim here.
Conclusion: Zufi Bukhari did not say he cannot come to Pakistan for hearings for the Al Qadir case as he is a British citizen.
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