Facebook posts target Pakistan politician with edited video 'praising' rival Imran Khan

Published on May 1, 2024 at 08:47
2 min read
By Masroor GILANI, AFP Pakistan

Old footage of a Pakistani politician from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's party was edited to make it look like he branded him a "fraud" and instead lavished praised on opposition leader Imran Khan. The edited footage, which racked up tens of thousands of views, was manipulated from a December 2022 speech in which the politician in fact criticised Khan and defended Nawaz Sharif -- Shehbaz's brother who also served as prime minister.

The clip appears to show Khawaja Saad Rafique praising Pakistan's ex-prime minister Imran Khan, despite the former cricketing legend being a staunch opponent of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.

"What has happened to Saad Rafique?" asked an Urdu-language Facebook post sharing the video, which racked up more than 70,000 views.

"Imran Khan wanted to make Pakistan the number one country in the world. Saad Rafique's speech has shaken everything up."

In the footage, Rafique appears to say in Urdu: "Imran was disqualified through a conspiracy. What did he do wrong? What sin had Imran Khan committed? Making Pakistan a modern country?"

He appears to credit him with boosting Pakistan's economy and bringing "all kinds of innovation."

Khan has been languishing in jail since August 2023, convicted of corruption, treason and an illegal marriage -- charges he says are politically motivated and designed to keep him from power.

Rafique also appears to accuse the PML-N's leader Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of "fraud" -- apparently referring to his alliance that shut out Khan loyalists from power after the February 2024 election found no clear winner.

A screenshot of a Facebook post sharing the false claim, taken on April 25, 2024

The edited video was shared in similar Facebook posts here, here and here and also circulated on Instagram and X, formerly Twitter.

A keyword search on YouTube found the original video of Rafique's speech, in which he in fact criticised Khan and praised Nawaz Sharif -- Shehbaz's brother and ex-prime minister.

Pakistan's 24 News live-streamed the speech, which Rafique gave in Lahore, on YouTube on December 26, 2022 (archived link).

At the video's 14:43 mark, Rafique said: "Nawaz Sharif was disqualified through a conspiracy. What did he do wrong? What sin had Nawaz Sharif committed? Making Pakistan a modern country?" (archived link).

He was referring to Sharif's ousting by Pakistan's Supreme Court in 2017 over long-running corruption allegations.

At the time, the Sharifs and their supporters repeatedly denied the allegations and said Nawaz was the victim of a conspiracy driven by Pakistan's powerful military establishment.

At the video's 10:35 mark, Rafique accused Imran Khan of "fraud" -- not Shehbaz Sharif, as the edited clip appears to show (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison of the edited video (left) and the original footage (right). The edited video has been flipped horizontally.

A screenshot comparison of the edited video (left) and the original footage (right)

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