Pakistan politicians falsely claim foreign minister advocated making rich richer

The video was shared on Twitter here by Khurram Sher Zaman, a lawmaker from the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, on February 26, 2023.

It shows Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari saying in Urdu: "If you make the rich richer, then maybe they will employ more people which will improve the economy."

The Urdu-language tweet appears to mock Bhutto Zardari, saying: "After listening to him, I realise why Sindh province is in such terrible condition to this day.

"If people who think like this will be your leaders then you can imagine what the country and the peoples' condition will be. May Allah have mercy on the people of Sindh and free them from people who think like this."

Bhutto Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) heads the provincial government in Sindh, which the World Bank said was "disproportionately affected" by floods that submerged a third of the country in 2022.

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Screenshot of the misleading tweet, captured on February 28, 2023

The video circulated as Pakistan sought to secure a vital cash injection from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with the country in the grip of a major economic crisis.

Years of financial mismanagement and political instability have pushed Pakistan's economy to the brink of collapse, exacerbated by a global energy crisis and the 2022 floods.

The country's tumbling economy mirrors its political chaos, as former prime minister and PTI chairman Imran Khan heaps pressure on the ruling coalition in a bid to force early elections.

The video was viewed over 100,000 times in similar posts by seemingly pro-PTI accounts on Twitter here, here, here and here; and on Facebook here, here, here and here.

It was also shared on Twitter by PTI leader Lal Chand Malhi.

The video, however, has been shared in a false context.

Social welfare speech

A keyword search for recent speeches by Bhutto Zardari led to this longer video published on YouTube by Pakistan's Samaa TV on February 25.

The video's English-language title reads, "FM Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addresses BISP ceremony | SAMAA TV | 25th February 2023".

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video used in the misleading posts (left) and Samaa TV's video (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the video used in the misleading posts (left) and Samaa TV's video (right)

The clip used in the misleading social media posts corresponds to the 11-second section beginning at the 7:48-mark of the YouTube video.

An analysis of the video shows the misleading video quoted Bhutto Zardari mid-sentence, and the foreign minister was in fact criticising the idea that helping the rich to become richer will eventually benefit everyone.

Bhutto Zardari's full quote can be heard from the YouTube video's 7:43 mark.

He says: "All around the world there are political parties that think that if you make the rich richer, then maybe they will employ more people which will improve the economy.

"But there are only a few rich people in every country; no matter how many people they employ they cannot improve the entire country's condition."

A video of Bhutto Zardari's speech was also uploaded to the Facebook page of PPP, with the corresponding section beginning at its 7:27 mark.

According to Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, Bhutto Zardari made the remarks while announcing a 25-percent increase in stipends given under a government social welfare programme.

AFP has previously debunked posts targeting another Pakistani minister that falsely claimed he criticised his own government after a nationwide power cut.