Imran Khan supporters share manipulated clip of former chief justice
- Published on April 8, 2025 at 06:27
- 3 min read
- By Masroor GILANI, AFP Pakistan
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"An attempt by the hypocrite Qazi Faez Isa to absolve himself of all the abuses committed against Imran Khan and (Pakistan) Tehreek-e-Insaf, by blaming the system, meaning the army chief," reads an Urdu-language X post published March 9, 2025.
It features a clip showing an interview of Isa where he appears to say, "Pakistan's system is a bit complicated. If you think that as a chief justice I had all the powers, then you are wrong."
"My role in all the cases you are talking about was limited. Yes, some powers that are not visible in the media also have an impact in these cases which I cannot name here."
Text overlaid on the video reads, "I had no enmity with Imran Khan, but it was the system which turned against him. You cannot give independent decisions in Pakistan as chief justice."
The post has over 60,000 views.
Khan's supporters also shared similar posts on X and Facebook echoing allegations from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party that the Supreme Court under Isa's leadership had issued a slew of unfair decisions (archived link).
Khan, 72, has been held in custody since August 2023 charged in around 200 cases that he claims are politically motivated (archived link).
He has been convicted four times since his arrest, with two convictions overturned and the sentences in the other two cases suspended.
Ousted from power by a no-confidence vote in 2022, the former cricketer has since launched an unprecedented campaign in which he has openly criticised Pakistan's powerful generals.
Analysts say the military's leaders are Pakistan's kingmakers, although the generals deny interfering in politics.
Fabricated audio
The circulating video, however, has been digitally manipulated to insert fabricated remarks.
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the clip found it was taken from a longer video on the Oxford Union's YouTube channel published on October 10, 2022 (archived link).
The video is titled "Justice Qazi Faez Isa: Pakistani Supreme Court Justice | Full Q&A at The Oxford Union" and shows him giving a speech and interview.
He spoke about the judiciary in Pakistan during the event, including a Supreme Court ruling in April 2022 that Khan's decision to dissolve parliament was illegal and ordered a no-confidence vote on his government to go ahead (archived link).
Nowhere in the full video did Isa admit the judiciary has been biased against Khan as the false posts allege.
At the time, Isa was a judge on the Supreme Court and only took the helm on September 17, 2023 (archived link).
Digital forensics firm GetReal Labs told AFP on April 4 that the clip's audio was likely AI-generated, given the "mismatch between the lips and the audio" (archived link).
AFP has repeatedly debunked misinformation around the jailed former prime minister.
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