Claim: Two pictures show PTI founder Imran Khan’s sons, Sulaiman Isa Khan and Kasim Khan, on their way to perform Hajj and in front of the Kaaba.
Fact: Both images are doctored.
On 14 June 2024, Soch Fact Check received a WhatsApp message containing a visual comprising two pictures; one of which seemingly shows Sulaiman Isa Khan and Kasim Khan — the sons of Pakistan’s former prime minister and founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan — in an aeroplane on their way to perform Hajj, while the second one shows them standing in front of the Kaaba, or the Grand Mosque of Saudi Arabia.
The visual is accompanied by the following text:
“بریکنگ نیوز! عمران خان کے دونوں صاحب زادے اس سال حج کی سعادت حاصل کرنے بیت اللہ میں موجود ہیں۔ اللہ ہم سب کو حج کرنے کی توفیق عطا فرمائے۔ آمین (فائل فوٹو)🇵🇰🩵🩵 [Breaking News! Both the sons of Imran Khan are present in Baitullah [House of God or the Kaaba] to get the blessings of Hajj this year. May Allah grant us all the opportunity to perform Hajj. Amen (file photo)🇵🇰🩵🩵]”
Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to the Kaaba, is being commemorated from 14 to 19 June 2024 in the Gregorian calendar this year, which corresponds with the five-day period from 8 to 13 Zil Hajj, the 12th month in the Islamic lunar calendar.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check immediately suspected that both the pictures were badly doctored, perhaps by a novice. After reverse image searches did not yield relevant results for either photo, we blurred out the faces of Sulaiman and Kasim Khan in the first picture and reverse-searched again, which led to a 24 March 2023 article by the Indian publication Lokmat News Hindi, titled “उमराह के लिए रवाना हुए असीम रियाज और अली गोनी, पारंपरिक वेशभूषा में शेयर की तस्वीर [Asim Riaz and Ali Goni left for Umrah, shared a picture in traditional attire].”
The original image shows Indian actors Aly Goni and Asim Riaz, who have appeared in the reality TV show “Bigg Boss.” They are “childhood friends”, according to the Hindustan Times.
Umrah is a shorter pilgrimage, as opposed to Hajj, and can be performed at any time of the year.
The image of the two actors on the plane can also be found on other Indian websites, including Koimoi and India Forums, posted in March 2023. The articles included the original Instagram posts by Riaz and Goni that can be viewed here and here, respectively.
The second image from the viral WhatsApp message appears to be a picture of the Kaaba in the background, with two figures dressed in ihrams — a “white, seamless, two-piece garment” that Muslims wear before starting their holy pilgrimage — doctored into it. Sulaiman and Kasim Khan’s faces have been superimposed on to the edited photo. We came to this conclusion by noticing the different lighting angles in the background image, the ihrams, and the faces of Imran Khan’s sons.
Furthermore, there are no credible reports of Sulaiman and Kasim Khan going to perform Hajj. Their mother and Imran Khan’s former wife, Jemima Goldsmith, has previously clarified that her sons are not on social media.
This is not the first time the claim has gone viral. In a video posted on 12 April 2023 that has been viewed over 81,000 times, a visual at the 17-second mark shows a fabricated X (formerly Twitter) post by Goldsmith with the caption, “My Son In Makkah.” The images also appeared in videos, such as this and this, posted in December 2023.
Virality
The message Soch Fact Check received is marked “Forwarded many times,” which means it was shared through a chain of five or more chats.
We also found the claim here, here, here, here, here on X, here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook, here on YouTube, and here on TikTok.
Conclusion: Both photos were doctored. The first picture has Sulaiman and Kasim Khan’s faces superimposed onto a picture of two Indian actors who performed Umrah in March 2023. The difference in lighting and picture quality proves that the second photo was also edited.
Background image in cover photo: @khanjemima
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