Claim: A notification signed by former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan directs party members, workers and social media team to refrain from criticising Pakistan Army, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Fact: This notification which surfaced on social media on 10 November 2022, is fake, as confirmed by PTI’s Azhar Mashwani.
Fact or Fiction?
On 10 November 2022, Nasir Mehmood Butt shared a notification signed by PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
The notification states that Imran Khan has directed his party members, workers and social media team to refrain from criticising the Pakistan Army, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
The Urdu notification translates to, “All party office bearers, party spokespersons, ticket holders and social media team are strictly instructed to refrain from using any platform after today to debate, issue a statement or post against Pakistan Army and ISI or its officers including General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Social media team should immediately remove any negative posts already present on their feed. No negative statement or post about General Faisal Naseer should be shared in a public forum. All friends should follow the above instructions strictly till the next step.”
Soch Fact Check found that the claim is false. PTI leader Azhar Mashwani confirmed via a tweet that the notification is fake. “This Fake Notification is circulating on Social Media,” he tweeted.
This Fake Notification is circulating on Social Media pic.twitter.com/anxbVd4fHd
— Azhar Mashwani (@MashwaniAzhar) November 10, 2022
The proliferation of the claim could be linked to Khan accusing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and army officer Major General Faisal Naseer of hatching the plot to assassinate him. Following his allegations, PTI supporters took to social media to criticise the current government and military. The former prime minister was shot at in an assassination attempt on 3 November 2022 in Wazirabad city in Punjab province.
Virality:
Nasir Mehmood Butt’s tweet gained 144 likes, 44 retweets and two quote tweets.
The claim was shared here on Facebook as well.
Conclusion: The notification doing the rounds on social media stating that Imran Khan asked PTI supporters to refrain from criticising the military is fake, as confirmed by PTI leader Azhar Mashwani.