Brawl at Indian mosque misrepresented as Imran Khan's supporters beating up imam
- Published on May 20, 2026 at 07:17
- 2 min read
- By Ayesha MIRZA, AFP Pakistan
Supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan have continued calling on authorities to allow family visits, but footage circulating online does not show members of his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), assaulting an imam for refusing to pray for his release. Indian media aired the same footage in February 2026 reports about a brawl at a mosque in Moradabad in northern India. A local police spokesperson told AFP the fight stemmed from an argument over prayer times and said authorities later mediated a compromise between the two sides.
"Lahore local PTI official's violence on the Imam of a mosque for not praying for Imran Khan's release is regrettable," says an Urdu-language Facebook post shared on May 2, 2026.
The attached video shows a group of men brawling inside a mosque, while overlaid text repeats the claim.
Khan, who was prime minister between 2018 to 2022, has been in jail since 2023 and late last year was sentenced alongside his wife to 17 years in prison on corruption charges they deny.
His supporters have staged protests and sit-ins outside Adiala jail -- where Khan is held -- demanding that prison authorities comply with a court order and allow his family and senior PTI members to visit him (archived here and here).
The party has also called for Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to be transferred to a hospital for medical treatment over health concerns.
Dozens were arrested as clashes broke out between PTI supporters and police outside the prison in April 2026, including members of Khan’s family and senior party leaders (archived link).
Similar claims spread elsewhere on X, Threads and Instagram, but the clip was not actually filmed in Lahore.
A reverse image search using keyframes from the falsely shared video shows that Indian news outlet City Channel 24 published the same footage on February 25 (archived link).
The report said it shows a fight that broke out between two individuals over a dispute on prayer timings at a Shia mosque in Lakriwalan, Moradabad in northern India (archived link).
It also shows Moradabad City Superintendent of Police Kumar Ranvijay Singh saying both sides had given their statements and that the case was under investigation.
Other Indian outlets also reported on the brawl at the time (archived link).
Singh separately confirmed to AFP the circulating video is old and was filmed in a mosque in Moradabad.
"This incident occurred in February following an altercation during prayers at the Shia mosque in Lakriwalan -- a video of which had gone viral previously," he said. "Subsequently, a compromise was brokered between the two sides."
AFP found no recent credible media reports that PTI supporters had assaulted an imam in Lahore.
AFP has previously debunked misinformation about PTI.
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