Claim: Media outlets published a news story claiming that the Afghan foreign ministry issued an advisory for their citizens urging them to avoid travelling to Pakistan due to political uncertainty and violence.
Fact: The claim is false, no advisory has been issued recently. The advisory that has been shared online is from May 2023, when clashes erupted between political workers and law enforcement resulting in the disruption of mobile signals and internet services.
On 2 September 2023, media outlets including 24 News Urdu (archived), Mashriq TV (archived), and City 42 (archived) published stories all of which claimed that the Afghan foreign ministry published an advisory for citizens not to travel to Pakistan due to political instability and violence.
Fact or Fiction?
The same news was published by The News (archived), but was later deleted after journalists called it out as an old post on social media.
The 24 News Urdu post features an English language advisory that reads, “IEA-MoFA statement concerning developments in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”
Soch Fact Check investigated the claim and found that no new advisory was published by the Afghan foreign office in August or September 2023.
The advisory was originally issued on 10 May 2023 in regards to the protests that erupted across Pakistan after the 9 May arrest (archive) of former prime minister and chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan.
At that time, many countries issued travel advisories for their citizens due to political uncertainty and large scale protests taking place across Pakistan.
According to the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, the last major announcement by the Afghan Taliban was made in August 2023.
Virality
The old post shared as a new advisory was falsely shared by many journalists including Asad Ali Toor and Hamid Mir on X (formally Twitter). It can also be seen here, here, here, and here.
On Facebook, the same false post can be seen here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The Afghan foreign office has not issued an advisory for citizens not to travel to Pakistan in September 2023.
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