A photo of an old gathering of supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has resurfaced in social media posts, with the false claim that the photo was taken during a recent demonstration in Islamabad. The photo — shared hundreds of times in September 2024 when Khan’s party largest demonstration in the capital since he was detained — previously reported in 2022 about a meeting in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
“Despite road closures, police firing and obstacles, Imran Khan’s party put up an impressive show of force in Islamabad today,” reads the English caption of the photo. shared on social media site X on September 8, 2024.
A large crowd was seen carrying flags of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, with a string of lights stretching far into the horizon in the middle of the protest site.
“From prison, the ex-prime minister called for a rally and local media reported a large turnout despite restrictions,” the report said.
The false claim came to light when thousands of Khan’s supporters collected in Islamabad on the day itself, despite attempts by authorities to block the protesters’ main routes into the capital, AFP reported (archived link).
The demonstration was the largest in the capital since the retired international cricketer was arrested on several charges, some of which are still before the courts.
The photo has also been shared over 800 times, along with a similar claim on X here And here.
However, the photo was taken during a meeting two years ago.
Old rally
Reverse Google searches revealed that the photo was shared on X here And here on April 14, 2022 (archived links) here And here).
Reports said that there was a PTI protest in Peshawar the day before. The protest took place a few days after Khan’s expulsion as Prime Minister in a parliamentary motion of no confidence on April 9, 2022 (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison between the image in one of the fake messages (left) and in a social media post from 2022 (right):
The photo also matched film material shared on PTI’s official X account on April 15, 2022. The caption read: “April 14, 2022, Haqeeqi Azadi’s first ever Jalsa (rally) in Peshawar” (archived link).
“Haqeeqi Azadi” is a political slogan of the PTI meaning “true independence”.
Below is a screenshot of the comparison between the wrongly shared video (left) and the video shared by PTI (right), with the corresponding elements highlighted:
A video showing a PTI meeting was geotagged on Google Maps in April 2022 in Peshawar Ring Road (archived link).
Khan has been in prison since August 2023 on charges he says are aimed at preventing him from returning to office.
AFP has repeatedly debunked misinformation about the former Pakistani leader.
