Clip shows Pakistani cricketing great Miandad ahead of flag ceremony, not 'about to speak against ex-PM Khan'

Published on July 29, 2024 at 10:44
3 min read
By AFP Pakistan

A video of soldiers appearing to attach a pin to Pakistani cricketing great Javed Miandad's shirt ahead of a flag-lowering ceremony has been shared in social media posts that falsely claimed the soldiers were readying him to make a statement against his former teammate -- jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan. The video has circulated since August 2022 and corresponds with news reports about Miandad being invited as a special guest to view the ceremony at the border with India at Wagah.

"Breaking News: Javed Miandad is being prepared to make a statement against Imran Khan!" read the Urdu-language caption of a video shared on social media platform X on July 9, 2024.

The video, which was shared more than 2,100 times, appears to show two soldiers affixing something to Miandad's shirt.

Screenshot of the false X post, captured on July 23, 2024

The clip, which leaned into the impression that Miandad and Khan had been bitter rivals throughout their storied cricketing careers, was shared nearly a year after Khan was jailed on charges the former prime minister said were orchestrated to prevent his return to power (archived links here and here).

Analysts said Pakistan's powerful military, which ruled directly for decades and still wields immense power, was likely behind the slew of cases.

An Islamabad judge overturned his illegal marriage conviction in mid-July, while the Supreme Court ruled members from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party should have been allowed to run as party candidates in the February election.

As a result, the PTI would be granted additional parliamentary seats reserved for political parties.

However, Khan remains in jail on fresh charges of inciting protests and graft.

The same video was shared alongside similar claims on TikTok here and here, and on Facebook here, racking up thousands of views in total.

Comments on the posts suggested some users believed Miandad was about to make an anti-Khan statement.

"Another sacrificial lamb," commented one user, while another said: "By doing this, Javed Miandad will lose his own honour; nothing will change for Khan, God willing."

But the clip circulating online is unrelated to Khan.

'Beating Retreat'

Keyword searches on Google led to the same footage posted on Miandad's official YouTube channel on August 21, 2022 (archived link).

The title of the YouTube short read, "At Wagah Border".

Below is a screenshot comparison between the clip used in the false post (left) and the YouTube short from August 2022 (right):

Screenshot comparison between the clip used in the false post (left) and the YouTube short from August 2022 (right)

According to an article by Pakistan's Geo News published on August 23, 2022, Miandad was invited as a special guest to attend a flag-lowering ceremony at Wagah, on the border with India (archived link).

Footage of Miandad at the ceremony wearing the same dark blue clothing was embedded in the article.

Local media also reported on Miandad being invited to the ceremony here and here (archived links here and here).

Officially known as Beating Retreat, the ceremony sees Pakistani and Indian soldiers goose-step in a chest-puffing theatrical routine on both sides of chunky iron gates separating the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals.

The display draws to a close with the lowering of flags and a brisk, brotherly handshake.

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