Footage of Imran Khan in Pakistan courtroom is AI-generated
- Published on July 6, 2026 at 06:26
- 2 min read
- By Ayesha MIRZA, AFP Pakistan
As the conditions of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan's detention were legally challenged in June 2026, posts shared an AI-generated video falsely claiming it showed the jailed leader appearing in court. The video -- and similar clips that spread on social media -- contains visual errors indicative of synthetic content and was also flagged as AI-generated by a detection tool.
One video appearing to show Imran Khan in court was shared on Facebook on June 28, 2026.
The short video appears to show Pakistan's former prime minister with his hands cuffed as he addresses the court.
"The cuffs only restrain the hands, not morale," says part of the video's Urdu-language caption.
The same video was also shared elsewhere on Facebook, as were similar clips of Khan appearing to wear the same clothing in the same courtroom.
Khan has been in jail since 2023 and was sentenced in December 2025 along with his wife to 17 years on corruption charges they both deny (archived link).
The posts surfaced as Khan's sister Aleema challenged the conditions in which the former leader has been kept in detention, describing them as unlawful and inhumane.
Pakistan news outlet Dawn reported, "According to the petition, during a lawyers’ meeting held on April 8, it emerged that Imran had been kept in solitary confinement for 22 hours a day, while his wife, Bushra Bibi, was allegedly confined in isolation for 24 hours a day" (archived link).
It also claims the couple have been denied family visits for months and raised concerns about Khan's eyesight.
On June 30, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro removed procedural objections raised by the court's registrar against the petition and a similar petition filed by Bushra Bibi's daughter (archived link). The court ordered both petitions to be formally registered and scheduled at a further hearing leaving the question of whether they were legally admissible to be decided later.
There have been no official reports, however, of Khan recently appearing in court. The circulating video also contains visual errors that indicate it is AI-generated.
At the beginning of the clip, Khan's thumbs appear to merge into one another. The handcuffs he is wearing also appear to break apart when he lifts his hands up.
An analysis of the video using the DeepFake-o-Meter detection tool developed by the University at Buffalo found that its detection models indicate a "high" probability it was AI-generated (archived link).
The other, similar clips that appear to show Khan in court are also AI fabrications.
They contain several visual inconsistencies with where he appears to be standing in the courtroom and who is serving as the judge, with their appearance changing across the clips.
AFP has previously debunked other misinformation about Khan that relies on misrepresented visuals.
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