Claim: A photo shows the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, posing with members of the IPP on the occasion of joining the newly-created political group.
Fact: The image has been doctored. It originally shows a former lawmaker and ex-member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Ali Nawaz Awan, and not Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
On 13 December 2023, Pakistani journalist Imran Afzal Raja — currently a correspondent for South African media outlet News24 — posted (archive) a picture on X (formerly Twitter) allegedly showing the chief justice of Pakistan, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, standing with members of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), or the Stability of Pakistan Party.
The IPP leaders in the image include the party’s patron-in-chief and founder, Jahangir Khan Tareen, its president, Abdul Aleem Khan, as well as additional secretary-general and party spokesperson, Aun Chaudhry.
The IPP was created by Tareen — a PTI leader and ex-confidant of former prime minister, Imran Khan — after the latter’s party found itself in hot waters following the 9 May 2023 riots. Over the next few months, dozens of dissenting politicians quit the PTI to join the IPP.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched the image and found a 19 November 2023 post (archive) on X by journalist Murtaza Ali Shah, who wrote, “Ali Nawaz Awan quits PTI and joins IPP.”
Awan was previously associated with the PTI and has served as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan.
Closing in on the date, we searched the IPP’s X account and found a post (archive) from 19 November, announcing that Awan had joined the newly-created party; the tweet includes the original image. The accompanying caption is as follows:
“استحکام پاکستان پارٹی کو ایک اور بڑی کامیابی. سابق وفاقی وزیر علی نواز اعوان کی پیٹرن انچیف استحکام پاکستان پارٹی جہانگیر خان ترین اور صدر عبدالعلیم خان سے ملاقات اور استحکام پاکستان پارٹی میں شمولیت. اس موقع پر ایڈیشنل سیکرٹری جنرل عون چوہدری اور سینئر رہنما نعمان لنگڑیال بھی موجود تھے.
[Another big success for the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party. Former federal minister Ali Nawaz Awan met Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party Patron-in-Chief Jahangir Khan Tareen and [IPP] President Abdul Aleem Khan and joined the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party. [IPP] Additional Secretary-General Aun Chaudhry and senior leader Nauman Langrial were also present on this occasion.]”
Nauman Ahmad Langrial, who is seen in the far-left corner beside Tareen in the uncropped photo, is also a former member of the National Assembly.
There is no mention of Justice Isa joining the IPP on the party’s social media accounts either in November 2023 or in their recent posts. No such notification has been issued by the IPP in this regard either.
Therefore, Soch Fact Check concludes that the image is doctored and Justice Isa has not joined the IPP.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the doctored image here, here, here on X and here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook.
The original post by Imran Afzal Raja has received more than 442,600 views on X as of writing time.
Conclusion: The image in Imran Afzal Raja’s viral X post has been doctored. It originally shows a former lawmaker and ex-member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Ali Nawaz Awan, and not Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
Background image in cover photo: istehkampartyofficial
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