Claim: Social media posts claim that the percentage of women who smoke in Pakistan has surged to 72%, citing the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) as the source. Fact: This claim is false. The Pakistan Tobacco Board said that the figure was from a 2005 survey and PTB has no involvement in it. On 23 July […]
Claim: Drone cameras have been banned across the Sindh province in Pakistan. Fact: Drone cameras have not been permanently banned; they have only been temporarily banned for four days — 8, 9, 10, and 12 Muharram 1445 — during which Ashura processions will take place in specific areas of Karachi. The Islamic dates correspond to […]
Claim: Afghan singer Hasiba Noori was shot dead by unknown assailants in Peshawar in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Fact: There is no truth to the claim. Hasiba Noori has released a video statement saying that she is alive. Police in Peshawar and Quetta have also denied receiving information about any such targeted killing. On 17 […]
Claim: As tension escalates in Parachinar, Kurram District, a photo shows the Taliban gathered at the Pakistan- Afghanistan border. Fact: The photo has been wrongly linked to the ongoing dispute between two tribes in Kurram; it is an old photo dating back to 2021. Following firing over a land dispute between Bohshera and Dandar tribes […]
Claim: CCTV footage shows a speeding car crushing three people in Hyderabad, Pakistan. Fact: The footage is from Hyderabad, India, and not Pakistan. Content warning: This video contains content that may be graphic for some readers; discretion advised On 5 July 2023, Twitter account @Karachi_Update posted a video (archive) showing closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of […]
Claim: Pakistani business magnate Shahzada Dawood was the vice chairman of the World Economic Forum. Fact: Shahzada Dawood served as vice chairperson of the Engro Corporation before his untimely death; he was also a trustee on the Boards of Engro Foundation and The Dawood Foundation, as well as one of the top officials of the […]
Claim: Abrar-ul-Haq sang a melody called “Meri Jind Meri Jaan, General Asim Munir” at a concert in London on 28 January 2023. Fact: Abrar-ul-Haq did indeed sing at a concert in London. However, he sang one of his own songs from 2000, called “Kuriyan Lahore Diyan,” not “Meri Jind Meri Jaan, General Asim Munir.” On […]
Claim: Shehbaz Sharif tweeted his congratulations to the Indian National Congress for its win in the Karnataka elections and said he hoped that the Congress and the SDPI “will work for the strengthening of Islam in India and the sovereignty of Karnataka”. Fact: The tweet is fabricated. Shehbaz Sharif never posted such a tweet. On […]
Claim: Three “major newspapers of Pakistan” — including Dawn, Tribune, and The News — did not publish on their front pages news about the hundreds of Pakistanis who drowned in the Greece boat disaster in June 2023. Fact: All three papers reported news of the June 2023 Greece boat disaster on their front pages, as […]
Claim: A picture shows Maulana Fazlur Rehman posing for a selfie with a young woman. Fact: The picture actually shows a bearded man in a turban and shawl — whom Soch Fact Check identified as Asjad Mahmood, the son of Fazlur Rehman — taking a selfie with his father. On 3 June 2023, Facebook user […]
Claim: A cargo ship carrying Russian oil has refused to unload its consignment until Imran Khan “personally comes to receive it”. Fact: The report is satire. On 2 April 2023, Twitter user @drfatima_pti posted a visual (archive) showing former prime minister and chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, against a backdrop of cargo […]
Claim: A video shows Rana Sanaullah engaging in sexual activities with another man. Fact: The video, which can be traced as far back as at least 2019, does not show Rana Sanaullah and has been wrongly linked to the Pakistani interior minister. On 1 June 2023, Facebook user ‘Hammad Abbasi’ posted a video (archive) that […]