Claim: An image of Nawaz Sharif and King Muhammed Bin Salman is from Sharif’s Ramzan visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Fact: The image is from 2017, when Nawaz Sharif visited King Salman as the prime minister of Pakistan.
On 21 April 2023, the Instagram account (@pakobserver) shared an image of King Salman of Saudi Arabia and Nawaz Sharif, claiming that this is from Sharif’s Ramzan visit to Saudi Arabia. The image was posted with the following caption:
“JUST IN:— Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif held a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Sources said PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz was also present in the meeting when important matters were discussed.
They said the meeting between the former Pakistani premier and the crown prince was held in a positive atmosphere, adding that the issues being faced by the South Asian country were also came under discussion.”
Fact or Fiction?
Through reverse image search, we found that this image was shared on 23 June 2017 by Arab News. This photograph was taken on the occasion of the appointment of Muhammed bin Salman as the Saudi crown prince.
The original image was found on the website of Getty Images and it was labelled as follows:
“ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – AUGUST 28: Deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia and Defense minister Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud (L) meets Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif (R) in Islamabad, Pakistan on August 28, 2016. (Photo by Pool / Bandar Algaloud/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)”
Other images from the same visit were also posted on Twitter and Facebook, sharing the claim that these images are from the April 2023 visit. These can also be seen on the Getty Images website here and here.
Virality
On Instagram, this image was shared here.
On Twitter, this image was shared out-of-context by The Pakistan Daily.
Conclusion: An old image of Muhammad Bin Salman meeting Nawaz Sharif in 2017 was shared as recent.