Claim: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said that she does not know Imran Khan, but if a leader like Shehbaz Sharif was elected prime minister 10 years ago then Pakistan would have become a super power by now.
Fact: The Italian prime minister did not make any such statement during the press briefing in question.
On 21 April, a Facebook user posted a screenshot of a video of the Italian Prime Minister.
The caption, which is in Urdu, reads:
[Translation: “Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in clear words in a press conference today that she does not know Imran Khan, but if a leader like Shehbaz Sharif was elected prime minister ten years ago then Pakistan would have become a super power today. This statement is not just an opinion on the Pakistani leadership on a global level but is also considered a clear message in the current circumstances.”]
Another screenshot of Meloni, which appeared to be from the same event, was posted by a user on Instagram with the following caption in Urdu:
[Translation: “[A] Ssraeli journalist asked that Pakistan has kept Imran Khan in captivity. What is your opinion on this?
Meloni answered that if a person committed treason with his country in Italy, tried to bankrupt the country, incited the public against [state] institutions, and orchestrated an attack against his own army then that person would have been hanged by now. I am surprised that the government has not executed him yet nor has the Pakistani public come out on the streets with this demand.]
I salute Shehbaz Sharif’s courage that he is enduring this tribulation. Probably because of this courage and prudence he is leading the world.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched the screenshot and found that it was from a press briefing at an event: the 58th edition of Vinitaly, an international wine and spirits exhibition, held on 14 April in Verona, Italy.
The official website of the Italian government includes an embedded YouTube video of the press briefing. However, since the audio was in Italian, we found another YouTube video of the same press briefing auto-dubbed in English.
During the briefing, she spoke about the exports, mainly of wine, in Italy and the agricultural sector of the country. She also spoke about Italy’s relationship with the United States, saying the latter is an important ally but expressed her disagreement with the statement regarding the Pope. The Italian prime minister added that the comments targeting the Pope were completely unacceptable. Meloni also said that she would be uncomfortable in a society where religious leaders blindly follow the directives of political leaders. She was likely referring to US President Donald Trump calling Pope Leo XIV weak in war.
After this, she spoke about Russia and peace when asked about the ban on Russian gas. Meloni said the economic pressure that Italy has exerted on Russia is an effective tool for peace. The Italian PM then answered a question about sovereignism in Europe. There is another video too on the official website of the Italian government, in which she is taking questions from the government.It is 20 minutes and 24 seconds long, while the former is 7 minutes and 42 seconds long. Meloni did not mention Sharif, Khan or Pakistan in either of the videos.
Meloni and Sharif did have a conversation over the phone on 9 April 2026. During this call, she lauded the Pakistani government’s efforts that led to a ceasefire between the United States, Israel, and Iran, according to the Italian government. However, she was not found to have said that she does not know Khan, nor did she say Pakistan would have become a super power had Shehbaz Sharif been elected prime minister 10 years ago.
Based on the original video of the press briefing and credible reports on Meloni’s conversation with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Soch Fact Check concludes that the claim is false. The Italian PM did not say anything as such in the 14 April press briefing. Moreover, there is no publicly available evidence to report that Meloni made any statements regarding Khan or Sharif during her recent call with the Pakistani PM either.
Virality
The video and its screenshot with misleading captions is posted on Facebook here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Instagram it is here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Whereas on X it can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The video being fact-checked does not show the Italian PM saying that she does not know Khan. She also did not say that Pakistan would be a super power if a leader like Sharif was elected as prime minister ten years ago. The full press briefing at Vinitaly also makes no mention of such a statement.
Background image in cover photo: Reuters
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