Claim: A clip from a news broadcast shows Qatari news anchors calling for defence deals with Pakistan instead of the US.
Fact: The anchors do not make any such statements in the clip shared in the claim. Instead, they report on Pakistan’s condemnation of the Israeli strike in Doha on 9 September 2025.
A video shared online shows two news anchors speaking in Arabic. The video does not include any translation or subtitles for what the anchors are saying, but the embedded text in the video states: “امریکہ کے بجائے پاکستان سے دفاعی معاہدے عرب میڈیا میں مہم زور پکڑ رہی ہے”
[Translation: A campaign in Arab media advocating defence agreements with Pakistan instead of the US is gaining momentum.]
The video is captioned: “عرب دنیا میں نئی بحث: پاکستان کو امریکہ پر ترجیح؟
عرب میڈیا میں پاکستان سے دفاعی معاہدوں کے حق میں مہم زور پکڑنے لگی، ماہرین اسے خطے میں اسٹریٹیجک شفٹ قرار دے رہے ہیں۔ امریکہ کے بجائے پاکستان پر اعتماد کی بڑھتی ہوئی آوازیں۔”
[Translation: New Debate in the Arab World: Pakistan Preferred Over the US?
In Arab media, a campaign in favour of defence agreements with Pakistan is gaining momentum, experts are calling it a strategic shift in the region. Growing voices of trust in Pakistan instead of the United States.]
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check first reverse-searched keyframes of the viral video to trace the original footage and found that it was shared by Qatar Television’s official Facebook account on 9 September, with the following caption:
“جمهورية باكستان الإسلامية تدين الاعتداء الإسرائيلي الغاشم والانتهاك السافر لسيادة دولة قطر، مؤكدةً تضامنها الكامل ووقوفها إلى جانب دولة قطر ضد هذا العدوان”
[Translation: The Islamic Republic of Pakistan condemns the brutal Israeli attack and blatant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, affirming its full solidarity and support for Qatar against this aggression.]
Qatar Television is a state-owned public service national television broadcaster in Qatar. The caption of the post indicated that the contents of the video do not match the viral claim.
Mahmoud Ghazayel, a journalist and a member of tThe Arab Network for Fact-Checkers (AFCN), translated the viral video for us. According to Ghazayel’s translation, the anchor in the video refers to Pakistan’s condemnation of the Israeli strike in Doha and says:
“The brutal Israeli aggression and the blatant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, affirming its full solidarity and its stand alongside Qatar against this aggression. In a statement, the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed Pakistan’s condemnation of the aggression, stressing that this provocative and reckless act constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar.”
Based on the caption of Qatar Television’s video and Ghazayel’s translation, we conclude that the news anchors in the video did not make any statements about Qatar forming a defence deal with Pakistan.
Virality
The claim was shared here, here, here, and here. Archived here, here, here, and here.
On X, it was shared here (archive).
Conclusion: The Arab news anchors in the clip in the viral claim do not say Qatar should form a defence deal with Pakistan or anything in favour of it. Instead, they report on Pakistan’s condemnation of the Israeli strikes in Doha on 9 September 2025.
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Background image in cover photo: Qatar Television
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