Correction: This article was edited after publishing to change the terms “Pakistan-occupied Kashmir” to “Pakistan-administered Kashmir” Claim: The United Arab Emirates endorsed India’s territorial division of the sub-continent, which considers Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir as Indian territory. Fact: The UAE Deputy Prime Minister only shared a video which included an image of a map which […]
Claim: Justice Yahya Afridi said that the 9 May rioters were not shot at because they were “government’s people”. Fact: This statement is falsely attributed to Justice Yahya Afridi. It was however a rhetorical statement made by Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, in a case against the 9 May protestors. That statement was misconstrued to convey that […]
Claim: Imran Khan has written an apology letter to the Pakistan Armed Forces, requesting a reduction in sentences for all those arrested after the 9 May protests and riots. In this letter, he also promised that his party workers would never take the law in their hands again. Fact: Imran Khan’s lawyer, Intazar Hussain Panjutha, […]
Claim: After the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, the Canadian government has issued a travel advisory against travelling to India, citing terrorism concerns. Fact: India has issued a travel advisory against travelling to Canada, citing concerns of terrorism, not the other way around. On 21 September 2023, social media user Asif Jatt shared […]
Claim: Social media post claims that it shows missing journalist Imran Riaz Khan’s first video statement for the public after he returned home on 25 September 2023. Fact: The claim is false because the video is from July 2022, when Khan was arrested near Islamabad and was later released by the court. On 25 September […]
Claim: Social media posts claim that Kashmiri separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that Imran Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), will govern Pakistan in the new government. Fact: The claim is false. The video clip is from 2018, when PTI was elected for the first time. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq did not predict that the […]
Claim: A Facebook video claims that it shows journalist Imran Riaz Khan talking to the media when he returned home after being missing for four months. Fact: The claim is false because the video is from February 2023, when Imran Riaz was freed from the FIA’s custody after the case against him was dismissed. On […]
Claim: A schedule shows a cancelled flight of Nawaz Sharif’s from the UK to Pakistan. Fact: The image is doctored. Moreover, the picture shows PK-785, a PIA flight, which cannot possibly fly because the airline is banned from travelling to and from the UK and the EU. On 15 September 2023, X (formerly Twitter) user […]
Claim: Two photographs show the jail cell in which Imran Khan is being detained. Fact: The images are, in fact, of cells in the closed-down Ohio State Reformatory and Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary; they were taken in 2021 and 2016. On 11 August 2023, X (formerly Twitter) user @p4pakipower1 posted a picture (archive) apparently of a […]
Claim: Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar took a selfie inside the UNGA hall on his state trip to New York. Fact: The selfie, while authentic, was taken in 2019 when Kakar was a senator. It’s unrelated to his tenure as caretaker prime minister. On 20 September 2023, Facebook user ‘Sadiq Kakar’ posted a picture (archive) showing Pakistan’s interim […]
Claim: A viral image shows Sahar Ata Bandial, the daughter of Pakistan’s former top judge, Umar Ata Bandial. Fact: The image does not show Sahar Bandial but Shiffa Z. Yousafzai. On 13 September 2023, the X (formerly Twitter) user @Drsamina19 posted a picture (archive) claiming it shows Sahar Ata Bandial, the daughter of former Chief […]
Claim: Before the parliament’s dissolution, President Arif Alvi approved an anti-Shia bill without consulting any religious schools of thought. Fact: President Arif Alvi returned the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act 2023 On 16 August 2023, a Twitter user claimed that the president had given his assent for an “anti-Shia” bill, and the community had come out […]