Claim: Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif says if the country hadn’t controlled its terrorists they would still be roaming free in the streets of London and New York.
Fact: PM Shehbaz did not say anything of this nature. The caption posted with the video is false.
On 23 September 2026, former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri shared a video of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif giving a speech. Suri shared the clip amid the ongoing 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, United States.
The PTI politician claimed that Shehbaz called Pakistan a “terrorist country” and wrote the following caption with the clip:
اگر ہم نے اپنے دہشت گردوں کو قابو نہ کیا ہوتا تو وہ نیویارک یا لندن کی سڑکوں پر دندناتے پھر رہے ہوتے۔ شہباز شریف”
یہ ایک ایٹمی ملک کا وزیرِ اعظم ہے اور دنیا کو بتا رہا ہے کہ ہم دھشتگرد ہیں۔
لَخ لَعْنَت اس پر بھی اور اس کو لانے والوں پر بھی 🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️
#مینڈیٹ_چور_شریف_مافیا
“#مینڈیٹ_چور_اردلی_حکومت
[Translation: “‘If we hadn’t brought our terrorists under control, they would be roaming freely on the streets of New York or London.’ — Shahbaz Sharif
This is the Prime Minister of a nuclear-armed nation, telling the world that we are terrorists.
A thousand curses upon him and upon those who brought him to power. 🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️
#MandateThiefSharifMafia
#MandateThiefLackeyGovernment”.]
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check first closely listened to the clip Suri had shared to see if the description in his caption matches what PM Shehbaz said. The 30-second video has been transcribed below:
“… For that, Pakistan’s sacrifices are probably the biggest around the globe. It must be respected and appreciated because we are a bulwark. Had these terrorists not been encountered by us, they would have been roaming on the streets of New York and London, and God knows, far East. So I think this is our humble contribution, not only for the people of Pakistan but the people all over the world.”
PM Shehbaz couldn’t be heard specifying whether or not the terrorists belonged to Pakistan. Instead, he said Pakistan “encountered” them.
Soch Fact Check looked for his speech on the official YouTube channel of the United Nations to analyse the context of what he said but could not find the complete version of his address from this year.
We then conducted a reverse image search of the video to trace its origin, which led us to PM Shehbaz’s speech at the 80th UNGA session last year, on 26 September 2025.
Left: Video under investigation posted on 23 September 2026. Right: Complete video of PM Shehbaz’s speech at the 80th session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 26 September 2025.
According to state-run channel Pakistan TV Digital, the premiere has yet to make his speech on 25 September 2026, whereas the claim surfaced on 23 September 2026.
Since the clip under investigation is a trimmed version of PM Shehbaz’s UNGA speech in September 2025, Soch Fact Check reviewed the complete video available on the United Nations’ YouTube channel, posted on 26 September 2025.
In it, PM Shehbaz talks about Pakistan’s counter-terrorism efforts from the timestamp of 18:05 till 20:08, which also includes the clip under investigation. An excerpt of his speech has been transcribed below:
“Madam president, Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. For over two decades, Pakistan has been at the frontline of global counterterrorism efforts, having suffered over 90,000 people. We lost 90,000 people of our country; babies, children, mothers, sisters, brothers, elderly people, doctors and engineers, and also suffered an economic loss of $150 billion. Please tell me, put your hand on your heart, that what can be a bigger manifestation of our commitment to fight terrorism and erase it not only from the face of Pakistan, but from the face of this global world, and I believe a man killed in New York is a man killed in Lahore, a man killed in Islamabad is a man killed in London; it’s a global village so I think unprecedented terrorism is defeated, hands down. This world will not be a peaceful place to live, and for that Pakistan’s sacrifices are probably the biggest around the globe. It must be respected and appreciated because we are a bulwark. Had these terrorists not been encountered by us, they would’ve been roaming on the streets of New York and London, and God knows, far East. So I think this is our humble contribution, not only for the people of Pakistan, but the people all over the world. Today, we face externally sponsored terrorism, particularly from foreign funded groups such as the TTP, Fitna al-Khawarij, Fitna al-Hindustan BLA and its Majid Brigade operating from Afghan soil.”
PM Shehbaz did not say Pakistan “controlled its terrorists” and specifically clarified that the country suffers from foreign-funded terrorism instead. Nor did he call Pakistan a “terrorist country”.
Virality
Soch Fact Check first came across a viral Facebook post on PTI politician Qasim Suri’s account where the video received 1,300 likes and 244 shares.
It garnered more reach on the platform after it received 2,700 and 1,700 likes via separate posts.
Conclusion: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif did not say Pakistan “controlled its own terrorists”. The clip under investigation is from last year i.e. September 2025 when the premiere addressed the 80th UNGA session and spoke about how Pakistan is a target of terrorism itself as the country continues to face terrorism from “foreign-funded groups”.
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