Claim: A video shows federal minister Ahsan Iqbal accusing the army chief of selling Pakistan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and calling his own government traitors. He has also resigned from the ministry.
Fact: Ahsan Iqbal has not resigned from his post. The viral video is from Imran Khan’s tenure and its audio has been altered to make it seem like Iqbal is accusing the army of selling Pakistan to the IMF. The minister did not make any such statement in the video.
On 25 May 2024, Facebook user Muhammad Ijaz posted a video of Ahsan Iqbal, the Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, claiming that he had resigned from his ministry and called the government a traitor.
The post is accompanied by an Urdu caption,
“Ahsan Iqbal resigned from his ministry
He walked out of the parliament after calling the government a traitor”
In the 20-second clip, the politician can be heard saying, “We gave East Pakistan. The army chief gave the State Bank [of Pakistan] to the [International Monetary Fund] IMF. Quaid-e-Azam got us freedom. The army chief made us slaves of the IMF. You are all traitors. You are selling the country. You are selling [Pakistan] Steel Mills. You are selling our freedom.”
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check ascertained that the clip is not recent as it features Qasim Khan Suri presiding over the national assembly session. He served as the 19th deputy speaker during Imran Khan’s tenure from 15 August 2018 to 16 April 2022. Currently, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq is serving as the speaker of the assembly, having taken oath on 1 March 2024.
We also observed that the audio in the footage is tampered with, as the phrase “army chief” is overlaid, first at the two-second and then at the eight-second mark. The sound of this voice does not match Iqbal’s and contrasts sharply with his otherwise heated tone throughout the rest of the video.
Moreover, Soch Fact Check sifted through the Ministry of Planning and Development’s official X (formerly Twitter) account and ascertained that the minister has not resigned. He is currently accompanying Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as part of a delegation from Pakistan, attending the Pakistan-China Business Conference in Shenzhen, China. The minister can be seen in photographs posted by the account, confirming his active involvement in the conference.
Iqbal has also posted about recent engagements and activities, here and here, as a minister on his personal X account. His bio on X also reflects that he is the current Minister of Planning and Development. Additionally, any such news of his resignation was not reported by any credible media outlets.
Hence, Soch Fact Check concludes that the viral video attributed to Ahsan Iqbal is old. His statement in the video has been edited to make it appear as if he is saying the army has sold Pakistan to the IMF.
Virality:
The claim can be found here, here, here and here on Facebook.
Muhammad Ijaz’s post gained significant traction with 14,000 views, 481 likes and 418 shares, as of writing time.
On X, the video was posted here, here, here and here.
Conclusion: Ahsan Iqbal has not accused the army chief of selling Pakistan and its national assets to the IMF, or called the present PML-N government traitors. He has not resigned from his ministry either. The viral video is old and has been altered.
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