Claim: A photograph of Imran Khan in a car with Barrister Gohar is from his recent visit to Bani Gala in April 2024.
Fact: This photo is old. According to Imran Ghazali, it was taken in March 2023 when Imran Khan was on his way to the Islamabad Judicial Complex in G-11, Islamabad.
On 10 April 2024, a Facebook user shared an image with the following caption:
ماشاءاللہ کے بغیر کوئی بی نہ گزرے اج کی خوبصورت تصویر
تصویر ماشاءاللّٰہ
خُدا اور اُس کے فرشتے آپ ﷺ پر دُرود بھیجتے ہیں۔ اے ایمان والو۔۔!! تم بھی اُن ﷺ پر دُرود و سلام بھیجو۔۔۔!! 🌸
اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلٰی مُحَمَّدٍ وَّ عَلٰی اٰلِ مُحَمَّدٍ کَمَا صَلَّیْتَ عَلٰی اِبرَاهِیْمَ وَ عَلٰی اٰلِ اِبرَاهِیْمَ اِنَّکَ حَمیْدٌ مَّجِیْدٌ○ 🥀
اَللّٰهُمَّ بَارِکْ عَلٰی مُحَمَّدٍ وَّ عَلٰی اٰلِ مُحَمَّدٍ کَمَا بَارکْتَ عَلٰی اِبرَاهِیْمَ وَ عَلٰی اٰلِ اِبرَاهِیْمَ اِنَّکَ حَمیْدٌ مَّجِیْدٌ○ 🖤.
[Translation: Let no one pass without MashaAllah. Today’s beautiful picture.
Picture MashaAllah
God and his angels send durood on you. O believers..!! You too send blessings and peace upon him..!!
O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as peace be upon Abraham and the family of Abraham, you are the most Praiseworthy.
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his family, and bless Abraham and his family. Indeed, you are the Praiseworthy.]
The photograph, which is a screenshot of a TikTok video, shows Barrister Gohar and Imran in a car together. The angle of the camera indicates that Gohar took the selfie. Urdu text has been placed at the top of the image, which translates to, “Big News, my captain has reached Bani Gala, Alhamdulillah”, and text on the bottom of the image reads, “Big congratulations to all PTI workers”. The photo also includes the TikTok logo and account handle, @imrankhanofficial892 in the bottom right corner.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check spoke to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s media strategist Imran Ghazali, who told us the image was taken during Khan’s visit to the Judicial Complex in 2023, when his warrants were cancelled. Ghazali claims that Khan has not been let out of the jail since August 2023, therefore, Gohar could not have taken this selfie in the car recently..
On 18 March 2023, Khan reached the Judicial Complex in G-11 for a hearing for one of the corruption cases against him. In this instance, the Islamabad High Court cancelled arrest warrants for the former prime minister. This was shortly after the Zaman Park operation was conducted, falsely claiming to derive legitimacy from a court order.
A video published by Times Now on the same day on Facebook also shows Imran Khan wearing the same shalwar kameez and waistcoat as he’s wearing in the car selfie, which supports Ghazali’s assertion that the photo was taken in 2023.
Imran Khan’s legal battles
In January 2024, shortly before the elections, both Khan and his wife were sentenced to 14-years in jail in the Toshakhana case for illegal selling of state gifts. On 1 April 2024, the Islamabad High Court suspended the sentencing for the couple until further proceedings, to be continued after the Eid holidays.
Khan was also indicted in the cipher case alongside Shah Mehmood Qureshi in October 2023 and subsequently given a 10-year jail sentence. According to The Intercept’s independent investigation, the US State Department “encouraged the Pakistani government, in a meeting on March 7 2022, to remove Imran Khan as prime minister over his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a classified Pakistani government document obtained by The Intercept.”
On 17 April 2024, a special bench of the IHC comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, heard the appeals moved against the convictions in the cipher case. Khan’s advocate, Salman Safdar, has now concluded his arguments, the hearings will continue and the bench has not yet announced their verdict on the appeal for this case.
As of April 2024, his interim bail was extended in three cases by the anti-terrorism court. The IHC resumed hearing of appeals in the cipher case, and suspended his sentence in the Toshakhana case. As of January 2024, 150 cases were launched against Imran Khan.
Virality
The claim shared on Facebook received more than 2000 interactions. The original claim, shared on TikTok here on 9 April 2024, received more than 17,000 interactions on the platform.
Conclusion: Old picture of Imran Khan was recycled to falsely claim that he has returned to Bani Gala.
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