Claim: Imran Khan’s shooter was standing behind PMLN’s Imtiaz Azhar Bagri during an interview the day before the shooting.
Fact: The man standing behind Bagri is not the shooter. He has been misidentified.
On 3 November 2022, prominent journalist and commentator Moeed Pirzada shared a video of an interview with PMLN member Imtiaz Azhar Bagri. The video was first shared elsewhere but gained significant virality after Pirzada shared it. A man who resembles Imran Khan’s shooter can be seen standing behind Bagri in the video. Social media users have shared the two images side by side, arguing that it is the same man.
Fact or Fiction?
Pirzada shared the video with the caption, “Alleged attacker Naveed (now in friendly custody of Punjab Police) can be seen standing behind a PMLN leader giving interview to HNN reporter a day earlier! Police in another country, will reach all criminals in less than 24 hours! Why Not in Pakistan?”
Image of Imran Khan’s attacker juxtaposed with a man standing behind PMLN’s Bagri in an interview
In reply to the tweet, a social media user shared a video where the man from the interview clip is issuing a clarification stating that he is not Naveed, the attacker. In the video, he explains in Punjabi that he went to Wazirabad with his friends to attend the long march. There, a PMLN member was being interviewed in front of a camera. He stood behind Bagri, who was being interviewed along with a crowd of people. The video is being shared with the false claim that he is the attacker, in an attempt to show that a PMLN member orchestrated the attack. In his video statement, the man from the interview clip says, “I have nothing to do with this matter, I am a family man, one of my hands is disabled, please do not make my photos/videos viral. Thank you very much.” In the video it can be seen that the misidentified individual is disabled, unlike the attacker.
Virality
The viral claim appeared here, here, here, here, here, here and here. The viral claim was also shared in a Youtube video by luxury diary.
Conclusion: The man standing behind Imtiaz Ali Baghri during his interview in Wazirabad is not Imran Khan’s shooter. The man has been misidentified and issued a clarification in a video.