Misleading posts that 'Pakistan banned donations for Gaza' spread online

"Pakistani government has asked all banks to stop accepting donations for Palestine. Here is one circular from Bank Alfalah," reads a post on X on November 8.

It shares what appears to be an internal memo dated November 3 from Bank Alfalah, one of the country's major private banks (archived link).

The memo advises all its branches not to accept donations to bank accounts of the "Embassy of the State of Palestine." The post has been shared over 3,000 times.

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Screenshot of the misleading post taken on December 12, 2023.

Hamas militants broke through Gaza's militarised border on October 7, killing around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 250, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and launched a military offensive in Gaza that has killed at least 20,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The United Nations estimates 1.9 million Gazans are displaced, out of a population of 2.4 million.

With their homes destroyed, they are living in crowded shelters and struggling to find food, fuel, water and medical supplies. Diseases are spreading, and communications have been repeatedly cut.

Similar posts saying Pakistan has banned donations for Palestinians have also been shared here, here and here.

The posts sparked outrage online, with hashtags calling for the boycott of Bank Alfalah.

"Time to boycott and withdraw your funds and close accounts with Bank Alfalah," one user on X said.

"Things have never been this much clearer. Pakistani citizens are boycotting for the sake of Allah and Palestine," another wrote.

But the posts omit important context.

Misrepresented bank regulations

In a statement issued on X on November 9, Bank Alfalah said its internal memo has created a "misunderstanding" on social media and that claims banks have been instructed to stop accepting donations are "absolutely incorrect" (archived link).

"In Pakistan, operational accounts of embassies are restricted from receiving donations; instead, contributions should be directed to legally permissible donation accounts," its statement reads.

"Bank Alfalah Limited remains committed to enabling donations from people in Pakistan in accordance with the law to appropriate and authorised accounts that are designated for the purpose of donations," the statement goes on to say.

The bank also directly responded to one widely shared post on X here, saying "the message is misleading" (archived link).

Under regulations issued by the State Bank of Pakistan to combat money laundering, charity accounts are subject to monitoring (archived link).

"Since these accounts are susceptible to misuse (and this is not just common in Pakistan but in any other country) for example to evade taxes, there is a clear guidance on how a charity can be registered and which accounts can accept charitable funds," Karim Jindani, CEO of fintech company Paysys Labs, told AFP.

"The accounts opened by any embassy are not per se opened for charity purpose and thus bank is right in guiding people to donate in any NPO/NGO accounts who are accepting funds to help people in Gaza," Jindani said.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said on X on November 8 that it had asked its embassies and missions to "direct financial donations to the people in Gaza to the accounts of the Palestinian Monetary Authority, and in-kind donations to the Palestinian Red Crescent only" (archived link).

"In this context, the ministry confirms that no embassy is allowed, under any circumstances, to open its bank accounts to collect any donations, but instead, it must direct any donations through the central accounts of the Monetary Authority only," reads part of the Arabic post shared by the ministry.

Pakistani media organisations Geo TV and Profit by Pakistan Today had also previously reported the claims are misleading (archived here and here)

AFP has debunked misinformation swirling around the Gaza war here.