Claim: During a National Assembly session, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari admitted that Imran Khan is the true leader of Pakistan, and that the nation demonstrates this by voting for him in elections.
Fact: The PPP Chairman did not say anything of the sort. The viral clip was created by editing and splicing an original speech delivered by Bilawal Bhutto in the National Assembly on 14 September 2024. Key words from his speech were removed to misrepresent his original remarks.
A video shows Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari delivering a speech in the National Assembly. It contains the following text: “بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا اعتراف
بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا اعتراف عمران خان پاکستانی قوم کے حقیقی لیڈر ہیں جنہیں قوم انتخابات میں ووٹ دے کر ثابت کرتی ہے کہ لیڈر صرف خان ہے”
[Translation: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s admission:
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari admits that Imran Khan is the true leader of the Pakistani nation, whom the nation proves by voting for him in elections that the only leader is Khan.]
In the clip, the PPP Chairman says, “Janab e speaker, Pakistan ke awaam iss waqt qaidi number 804 ke saath kharay hain. Jitnay bhi by-elections huay hain janab e speaker, jitnay bhi by-elections-. Jitnay bhi by-elections huay hain janab e speaker, yeh sabit kartay hain, yeh Pakistan ke awaam iss waqt Khan sahab kharay hain.”
[Translation: Honourable Speaker, at this moment the people of Pakistan are standing with prisoner number 804. Honourable Speaker, all the by-elections that have taken place, all the by-elections-. All the by-elections that have taken place prove that the people of Pakistan are currently standing with Mr Khan.]
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes from the viral clip and traced it to a speech by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, delivered in the National Assembly on 14 September 2024. A comparison of screenshots from the video in the claim with the original footage of the speech published by news outlets confirmed the match. For instance, the PPP Chairman’s attire and the background are identical. Additionally, PPP MNAs such as Raja Pervaz Ashraf, Aseefa Bhutto, Abdul Qadir Patel, and Hina Rabbani Khar, among others, are seated in the background wearing the same attire as in the viral clip.
Comparison of the two clips
We then identified the part of Bhutto’s original speech used in the video in the claim, which lasted from 17:48 to 19:48.
At 17:48, Bilawal Bhutto says, “Pakistan ke awaam iss waqt saazishi siyasat ke saath kharay nahi hai. Pakistan ke awaam iss waqt galam galoch ki siyasat ke saath kharay nahi hai.”
[Translation: At this moment, the people of Pakistan are not standing with conspiratorial politics. The people of Pakistan are also not standing with politics based on abuse and foul language.]
At 18:06, he said: “Pakistan ke awaam iss waqt qaidi number 804 ke saath kharay nahi hai.
[Translation: “At this moment, the people of Pakistan are not standing with prisoner number 804.”]
It appears that key words from this part of his speech were removed to create the viral clip. For instance, the ending of his statement has been edited out to suggest that he said, “At this moment, the people of Pakistan are standing with prisoner number 804.”
He further added: “Jitnay bhi by-elections huay hain janab e speaker, jitnay bhi by-elections huay hain-. Jitnay bhi by-elections huay hain janab e speaker, uss mein yeh log haartay hain aur ittehadi jamaatein jeet’tay hain. Yeh sabit kartay hain ke Pakistan ke awaam iss waqt kahan kharay hain aur kyun nahi.”
[Translation: Honourable Speaker, all the by-elections that have taken place, all the by-elections that have taken place-. All the by-elections that have taken place prove that these people lose while the allied parties win. This proves where the people of Pakistan currently stand, and why not.]
The first part of this statement matches what Bilawal Bhutto says in the viral clip; however, the rest of the statement is completely different, suggesting manipulation.
At 19:46, he says “Khan sahab” referring to Imran Khan. He proposes that PTI should investigate whether Khan had actually issued a statement attacking all constitutional institutions. He described the statement as a provocative move aimed at undermining the then-Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and the Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir.
After a complete review of the PPP chairman’s full speech, we found that he did not make the statement attributed to him in the viral video at any point. Soch Fact Check also examined footage shared by other news outlets, which matched the footage broadcast by the National Assembly of Pakistan.
This indicated that segments of Bhutto’s speech were spliced and rearranged to create the viral clip.
Audio forensic analysis:
Shaur Azher, an audio engineer at our sister company Soch Videos, examined the viral clip, referred to as Sample A in the analysis, and compared it against the original footage which is Sample B. The purpose of the analysis is to determine the authenticity, integrity, and any post-production manipulation present in the audio of the video being fact-checked.
Audio spectrograms
Observations and findings
- Authenticity assessment
A. The characteristics, articulation, and overall vocal timbre in Sample A match Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s voice, confirming its authenticity.
B. Minor AI-assisted post-processing is detected in Sample A, limited to equalisation (EQ) and dynamic compression.
C. No full AI voice synthesis or deepfake generation is detected.
- Splice cut manipulation
A. At 00:06 seconds in Sample A, a clear splice cut is audible during the phrase: “Qaidi number 804 ke sath kharay hai”
B. In Sample B, at 04:11 minutes, the original statement is: “Qaidi number 804 ke sath kharay nahi hai”
C. The word “nahi” has been deliberately removed in Sample A.
D. This constitutes contextual manipulation through selective editing, intended to reverse the meaning of the original statement.
- Inserted phrase manipulation
A. At 00:24 seconds in Sample A, Bilawal is heard saying: “Pakistan ke awam Khan sahab ke sath kharay hai”.
B. In Sample B, at 04:53 minutes, the authentic statement is: “Pakistan ke awam kaha kharay hai”.
C. Acoustic analysis reveals:
- A noticeable pitch shift during the phrase “Khan sahab”
- Immediate reversion to the original pitch profile afterward
D. This indicates that “Khan sahab” was:
- Either sourced from a further point in the broadcast, or artificially generated and altered using AI-assisted audio tools
- Frequency Spectrum Analysis
A. Sample A: Frequency range observed from 20 Hz to 12,000 Hz
B. Sample B: Frequency range observed from 20 Hz to 15,000 Hz
C. The reduced high-frequency content in Sample A confirms post-processing effects, consistent with EQ filtering and compression applied after editing.
Conclusion
- Sample A is not an original or unaltered recording.
- While the voice itself is authentic, the audio has been manipulated through splice cuts, selective word removal, and insertion of additional phrases.
- These alterations significantly change the semantic meaning of the original speech.
- The manipulation appears intentional, aimed at advancing a specific political narrative.
Bilawal Bhutto’s response to Imran Khan’s statement
On 13 September 2024, former Prime Minister Imran Khan issued a statement on X, arguing that Pakistan’s history is repeating itself. One individual and a small powerful elite are undermining democracy and the Constitution to cling to power, much like during the Yahya Khan era that led to the country’s breakup. Khan further accused the elite of controlling state institutions, suppressing political opponents, committing human rights abuses, and rewarding brutality with promotions. He urged the public to resist authoritarianism through a mass movement to protect democracy, the rule of law, and national freedom.
Imran Khan’s X post
In response, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto stated that if the former prime minister had indeed made the statement, he would have to face constitutional consequences. Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, Bhutto said the nation had read the statement, which accused key state institutions of wrongdoing. The video being fact-checked is a doctored version of Bhutto’s speech of this instance.
He added that with this provocative statement, Imran Khan has once again attacked democracy and adopted insulting behaviour against the sitting chief justice and the army chief to make his position controversial
The PPP chairman warned that if the PTI founder’s alleged statement was authentic, consequences would follow in accordance with the constitution. Bhutto urged the PTI leadership to investigate whether the statement had come directly from Imran Khan or whether it had been issued by someone else within the party. “Imran Khan and his party will be responsible for the consequences if the statement is proven to be his,” he stressed, adding that the democratic system will withstand such challenges.
Virality
The claim was shared here, here, and here on Facebook. Archived here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The viral clip is doctored; Bilawal Bhutto did not make any such speech admitting that Imran Khan is Pakistan’s true leader. The clip in question was created by editing and splicing an original speech by Bilawal Bhutto, delivered during a National Assembly session in September 2024.
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Background image in cover photo: PPP/File photo
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