This footage shows Imran Khan vowing to crack down on political corruption in 2019, not 2022
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on March 11, 2022 at 06:30
- Updated on March 11, 2022 at 06:32
- 3 min read
- By AFP Pakistan
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"The current situation of the country. Prime Minister Imran Khan's important address to the nation," reads the Urdu-language alongside the video in this Facebook post published on February 27, 2022.
The 12-minute video -- viewed more than 24,000 times -- shows Khan making an impassioned speech in which he pledges to go after corrupt politicians in Pakistan.
"I will not spare these thieves and robbers even if I am killed for taking them to task. This is my promise to my nation," he says.
The misleading posts spread online after it was reported Khan would deliver an address to the nation on February 28, 2022.
The same video was shared alongside a similar claim here, here, and here on Facebook.
However, the video has been shared in a misleading context.
Old speech
A reverse image search of keyframes from the clip found it in a longer, 35-minute video posted on Khan's official Facebook page on June 11, 2019.
"Prime Minister Of Pakistan Imran Khan Addresses The Nation (11.06.19)," the post reads.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the video posted on Khan's Facebook page in 2019 (left) and the video circulating in the misleading Facebook post (right):
The clip shared in the misleading posts corresponds with the 2019 video from the 22-minute 48-second mark to the 35-minute 12-second mark.
Pakistan newspaper Dawn reported on Khan's address on June 11, 2019, in which he vowed to investigate "thieves who left the country badly in debt". The report includes the same video of his speech.
Former World Cup cricketer Khan promised to sweep away decades of entrenched corruption and cronyism when his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party took power in 2018, AFP reported.
A string of former leaders -- Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari -- were arrested for corruption in 2019 but later released from prison.
However, critics say Khan has struggled to deliver on his campaign vows and failed to take action against his own ministers accused of graft.
Latest address
In a 45-minute address on February 28, 2022 Khan announced cuts to fuel and electricity prices. He only briefly mentioned corruption.
"When a country's rulers' properties and money is outside the country, they never work for the betterment of the country, but they always try to protect their money," he said.
Below is a screenshot comparison of Khan's address to the nation on February 28, 2022 (left) and the old video shared in the misleading posts (right):
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