Claim: A news anchor from the UAE confronted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for performing Umrah with his family on state expenses during an interview.
Fact: The claim is false; the viral video has been dubbed over. The video in the claim is from an interview which dates back to 2023, and it does not contain any discussion about an Umrah trip or government expenses.
A video (archive) of Shehbaz Sharif being interviewed by an Arab news anchor circulated widely on social media. The overlaid text on the video reads:
“ایک طرف قرض مانگتے ہو، دوسری طرف شاہی اخراجات کرتے ہو عرب اینکر نے شہباز شریف کو اوقات یاد کروادی
متحدہ عرب عمارات کی نیوز اینکر نے شہباز شریف کی دھائی کردی
BREAKING NEWS”
[Translation: On one hand, you ask for loans; on the other, you spend like royalty – the Arab anchor put Shehbaz Sharif in his place.
The UAE news anchor called out Shehbaz Sharif.]
The video was also shared by PTI member Qasim Khan Suri on Facebook (archive) with the caption, “Of course, the UAE news anchor must have asked this question to Shobaz Sharif at the will of his rulers, this honor of Pakistan is left in the hands of the rulers of Form 47 in the world.”
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 sidelines. 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.
In March, the Prime Minister went to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on an official visit. 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 a high-level meeting in Riyadh. The two reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening economic and defense collaboration. Sharif also praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts to expand economic cooperation, recognising its role in Pakistan’s growth and stability.
Following the meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz performed Umrah. While news reports state that the Prime Minister was accompanied by his high level delegation during the Umrah, a video shared on the Prime Minister’s official Instagram account featured several other members of the Sharif family who were not part of the official visit. It is not clear if Sharif himself or the state covered his and other family members’ Umrah expenses.
The claim likely surfaced online following his recent visits.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check initially searched for credible news reports on whether the prime minister had faced tough questioning during any recent interviews. However, a keyword search did not yield any relevant results.
We suspected that the viral video itself may have been dubbed as the interviewer’s lip movements do not align with the audio. Therefore, we reverse-searched keyframes from the video to trace the complete footage and found that the original interview aired two years ago on Al Arabiya, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned international Arabic news channel. Neither is it recent nor was it conducted by a UAE news outlet.
Since the interview aired in January 2023, it has no connection to the Prime Minister’s recent trips to the UAE or Saudi Arabia.
The interviewer spoke to the Prime Minister in Arabic, while he responded in English. His answers were, however, dubbed in Arabic during the broadcast. When we translated the transcript provided in the video’s description, Soch Fact Check did not find that the anchor had mentioned an Umrah trip or government spending on the Prime Minister’s family at any point during the interview. The interview primarily focused on Pakistan’s relations with Gulf countries, Indian-Occupied Kashmir, and the economy.
We also checked news reports regarding the Prime Minister’s recent visits to see if there was any information indicating that he was accompanied by family members or that their expenses were covered by the government. However, we did not find any relevant evidence.
Virality
The claim was shared here, here, here, and here on Facebook. Archived here, here, here, and here.
It was shared here, here, and here on X. Archived here, here, and here.
On Threads, it was shared here (archive).
It was also shared here, here, and here on Instagram.
Conclusion: The viral video claiming to show a UAE anchor confronting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over performing Umrah with his family on government expenses is false. The audio is dubbed. The footage is originally from a 2023 interview aired by a Saudi news outlet and contains no mention of Umrah or state-sponsored travel.
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Background image in cover photo: Al Arabiya
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