Claim: Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) has ended its alliance with Jehangir Tareen’s Istehkam Party within Punjab.
Fact: PML-N did not announce a political separation from Jehangir Tareen’s Istehkam Party. A fake account pretending to be PML-N’s official account posted a false statement on X.
On 8 February 2024, an X user, @PMLNOFFICIAL published a post with the following caption:
پنجاب میں جن حلقوں پر ہمارا آئی پی پی کے ساتھ اتحاد تھا ،وہ اب الیکشن بائیکاٹ کی وجہ سے ختم ہوچکا ہے۔تمام ذمہ داران سے گزارش ہے کہ کل کے الیکشن میں پارٹی پالیسی پر عمل کرتے ہوئے ،الیکشن کا بھر پور بائیکاٹ کرے۔
پاکستان مسلم لیگ ن آفیشل ۔
[Translation: The alliance that we had formed with the IPP within particular constituencies in Punjab, has now ended due to the call to boycott the election. All responsible citizens are requested to follow the party policy and boycott the election completely. Pakistan Muslim League-N Official]
The notification shared in the claim reads: “All Pakistan Muslim League (N) voters are to be informed to strictly not vote for Istehkam Party’s Jehangir Tareem and Aleem Khan. Our collaboration with them has come to an end and Shehbaz Sharif Sahab has also discussed this in his program with Mansoor Ali Khan. ”
Fact or Fiction?
PML-N’s official and verified account on X published a clarification within an hour of the claim being posted on the platform. In their tweet the PML-N issued a ‘fake news alert’, along with a ‘False’ stamp on the notification shared in the viral claim.
Soch Fact Check also published a similar fact-check about the PML-N boycotting the election here.
In addition to the PML-N’s official clarification on Twitter, Soch Fact Check found further evidence that falsifies claims of PML-N’s boycott. On 5 February 2024, journalist Mansoor Ali Khan published an interview with PML-N’s leader Shehbaz Sharif on HUM News’ official YouTube channel, which has 1.28 million subscribers. In the fifty-minute clip of the interview, recorded for the political show, ‘Hum Dekheinge: Mansoor Ali Khan key Saath’, Shehbaz Sharif does not announce that his party is boycotting the elections or ending their alliance with Jehangir Tareen’s Istehkam Party within Punjab.
Soch Fact Check also extensively reviewed websites of credible, mainstream news outlets in Pakistan but we did not find any reports on PML-N boycotting the elections or announcing a political separation from Jehangir Tareen’s Istehkam Party.
Virality
On X, the post received more than 52,200 views.
A similar post claiming that Nawaz Sharif has stepped back from the elections was viewed 137,200 times.
Conclusion: The PML-N has not announced a political separation from Jehangir Tareen’s Istehkam Party.
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