Claim: PTI leader Advocate Sher Afzal Marwat was arrested on the morning of 26 November, 2024.
Fact: PTI’s social media team confirmed to Soch Fact Check that Marwat has not been arrested at the time of publishing.
On Tuesday morning, a prominent account on X (formerly Twitter), whose bio identifies the user as a journalist and which boasts over 58k followers, claimed that Advocate Sher Afzal Marwat was arrested.
Background
Imran Khan, the jailed founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former prime minister, called on his supporters to converge for a protest at D-Chowk in Islamabad on 24 November, 2024. In response, hundreds of thousands of party supporters and leaders began mobilising from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and parts of Punjab towards the capital.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi issued stern warnings against entering D-Chowk, with the police and law enforcement agencies deploying aggressive crowd control tactics. Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters attempting to enter the area, actions which critics argue violated the right to peaceful assembly. According to official sources, at least one fatality occurred during the confrontations.
Fact or Fiction?
Sher Afzal Marwat himself posted a tweet (archived) from his official X account to clarify that he has not been arrested. He said:
جھوٹی خبریں پھیلانے سے گریز کیجئے، یا تو اپنے ناقص ذرائع تبدیل کیجئے۔
(ایڈمن)
[Translation: Avoid spreading fake news, or change your bad sources. (admin)]
A few hours after the claim was spread, he also published a video statement complementing Ali Amin Gandaur on bringing a huge convoy from KPK, announcing that the rally has entered Islamabad and that he will now join them as was planned.
Soch Fact Check also reached out to PTI’s official social media team who confirmed that Marwat has indeed not been arrested at the time of publishing. In addition, his official account has been consistently posting updates every few minutes.
Several hours after the claim was circulated, the account posted this video of Marwat leading a group of men. They seem to be at the Srinagar Highway, looking at the arches of the Metro bus bridge which can be seen in his background.
Virality
The post on X was viewed more than 160,800 times in less than five hours.
On Facebook, the same claim was extensively shared here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
The captions were more or less the same and all the posts were made around the same time, indicating a coordinated disinformation campaign.
Conclusion: Sher Afzal Marwat was not arrested on the morning of 26 November 2024
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Background image in cover photo: GNN
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