Claim: A video shows Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tripping and falling at a meeting from his recent visit to the Gulf states.
Fact: This claim is false. The video does not show Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tripping and falling. Instead, it shows Lebanese President Michel Aoun falling at the Arab League Summit in 2017.
Social media users in Pakistan have shared a video (archive) containing the following text: “میٹنگ کے دوران شہباز شریف کو چکر آگیا”
[Translation: Shehbaz Sharif got dizzy during a meeting.]
Shehbaz Sharif visits the Gulf
In February, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the UAE to participate in the World Governments Summit 2025, where he met with the country’s President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the side lines. Their discussion focused on strengthening economic ties, bilateral trade, and recent developments in the Middle East to promote sustainable growth. Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir was also present at the meeting.
The Prime Minister also undertook an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 19 March to 22 March. He was accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, federal ministers, and senior officials.
During this time, the prime minister and his delegation met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Royal Palace in Riyadh. They reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening military, and economic ties between the two countries. Sharif also praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts to expand economic cooperation, recognising its role in Pakistan’s growth and stability.
The claim seems to have surfaced online amid the backdrop of these meetings.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check first conducted a keyword search to find whether any news outlets had reported on the prime minister’s fall during his recent visit to the Gulf countries. However, we did not find any results which rendered the claim suspicious.
A closer look at the viral video revealed that it featured multiple flags, but there was no sign of a Pakistani flag. To verify the origin and context, we then reverse-searched its keyframes and found that the video was shared on YouTube as early as 15 August 2017 by the Middle East Monitor, a not-for-profit press monitoring organisation. Titled “The Fall of Lebanese President Michel Aoun”, the footage showed commotion at a meeting after Lebanon’s former president suffered a fall. The first few seconds of this clip were seemingly used in the viral claim being fact-checked.
Since the original video did not contain a description, we conducted a keyword search using the terms “Michel Aoun” and “falls” to gather more context.
According to news reports, then Lebanese President Michel Aoun tripped and fell face-first at the start of the 28th Ordinary Summit of the Arab League, held at the Dead Sea in Jordan on 29 March 2017. Aoun, aged 82 at the time, tripped on a low, red-carpeted podium where flags of Arab states had been arranged. Two men quickly assisted him while President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stood nearby. Aoun did not sustain any injuries and later addressed the summit about Lebanon’s security situation.
Virality
The claim was shared here (archive) and here (archive) on Facebook.
It was shared here, here, and here on Instagram.
Conclusion: The video does not show Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif falling at a recent meeting. It shows then President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun, tripping and falling at the start of the Arab League Summit in 2017.
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Background image in cover photo: Anadolu Agency
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