Jailed ex-Pakistan PM's party rejects fabricated report on release talks

Published on January 9, 2025 at 09:01
2 min read
By Masroor GILANI, AFP Pakistan

As the party of Pakistan's jailed ex-leader Imran Khan and the government held talks to diffuse political tensions, a fabricated news report surfaced online appearing to show one demand was for the authorities to "stop criticising the United States and Israel". A spokesman for the TV channel that purportedly aired the report told AFP it was nonsense, while a party official said it had made no such demand to the government.

"PTI has openly come forward to support its masters -- America and Israel," read a Facebook post that shared the fabricated report on January 1.

"It has demanded the government to stop issuing statements against their masters, Israel and America."

The post appeared to show a breaking news alert from Urdu-language broadcaster 92 News aired that same day with the headline: "PTI: the government should stop issuing statements against America and Israel. The first demand by PTI has come out during negotiations."

Political opponents have frequently attempted to discredit Khan by claiming he is a proxy to Israel -- an accusation fuelled by the Jewish ancestry of his ex-wife Jemima -- and the United States.

Screenshot taken on January 6, 2025 of the false Facebook post

The baseless claim spread on Facebook and X as representatives from the government and Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) launched talks, with the opposition demanding Khan's release from jail.

The former international cricketer has been languishing in jail since August 2023, slapped with dozens of legal cases he claims were confected to prevent his comeback in elections marred by rigging allegations.

PTI has also demanded a probe into the deaths of nine people during unrest that broke out following Khan's arrest in May 2023 and the widespread detention of protesters at a rally calling for his release in November 2024, The News International reported (archived here, here and here).

'Fake, absurd'

A spokesman for 92 News said the channel did not air the report shown in social media posts.

"No such breaking news was broadcast by our channel," the broadcaster's Islamabad station manager Kamran Ilyas told AFP on January 6, calling the claim "fake and absurd".

A PTI representative added that the party had not asked the government to cease criticism of Israel and the United States as part of its talks to free Khan.

"This is a false statement attributed to PTI," senior party official Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari told AFP on January 3. "It is an attempt to mislead the public with fake news."

AFP found no trace of the report on 92 News's website and social media channels, or any credible media reports about the party making such demands.

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