Clip of Pakistan PM niece's supposed criticism is edited

Published on August 12, 2025 at 10:59
3 min read
By Masroor GILANI, AFP Pakistan

Footage of an old speech by Pakistani politician Maryam Nawaz Sharif has been misleadingly edited to make it appear she branded the country's prime minister and her uncle Shehbaz Sharif a "thief". An analysis of the full video shows she was criticising former premier Imran Khan.

"When electricity and petrol prices increase then you should know that the prime minister is a thief," Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is heard saying in a July 16, 2025 Facebook reel.

"Maryam Nawaz called her own uncle and the current Form 47 Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a thief in front of the public," reads Urdu-language text overlaid to the clip.

"Form 47" refers to allegations Sharif's party rigged the country's most recent vote to sweep to power, made by the party of his rival and predecessor Imran Khan (archived link).

Screenshot of the false Facebook post taken August 6, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

Similar posts also surfaced on X, Instagram, and TikTok.

But a Google search of keywords from Maryam's speech led to an Aaj Television report published on YouTube on October 17, 2021 which shows her speaking during a rally in the eastern city of Faisalabad (archived link).

The circulating clip was taken from the longer video's 3:31 to 4:01 mark but excludes portions that clearly indicate Maryam Nawaz was criticising Imran Khan.

She was repeating earlier comments made by Khan when he was leading the political opposition against the powerful Sharif family (archived link).

During her speech, Maryam Nawaz shows a poster with Khan's name and reads his quote: "When electricity and petrol prices increase then you should know that the prime minister is a thief."

At the time of her speech, Khan was Pakistan's prime minister.

The former cricket star-turned premier has been jailed since August 2023 on a slew of corruption charges his party says are politically motivated (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of clip in false posts (L) and Aaj Television's report

Pakistani English-language daily Dawn in its report on the rally also quotes Maryam Nawaz as saying: "There was a man named Imran Khan, who used to say when flour becomes expensive, when sugar prices rise, when rates of electricity and petrol rise, know that your prime minister is a thief" (archived link).

Soaring fuel costs globally, coupled with demands from the International Monetary Fund to slash government subsidies, led successive Pakistani administrations to repeatedly hike electricity costs (archived link).

Prices have fluctuated since 2022 but peaked at a 155-percent increase, and power bills sometimes outweigh rents.

AFP has debunked more misinformation targeting Maryam Nawaz here, here and here.

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

E-mail