Javed Akhtar Khan did not win from NA-184 or PP-286
He also falsely claimed that a PTI-backed candidate won from both constituencies
Claim: Javed Akhtar Khan Lund claims that he won from the national assembly constituency NA-184 and provincial assembly constituency PP-286, Dera Ghazi Khan I.
Fact: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate, Abdul Qadir Khan won from NA-184 DG Khan-I while the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed candidate Ali Muhammad is the runner up. Javed was not declared winner for PP-286 either. Salahuddin Khan, affiliated with the PML-N, won from PP-286 with 37,513 votes.
Elections 2024
According to the results issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), independent candidates backed by former prime minister Imran Khan are leading by winning the most seats in the National Assembly. However, no party has been able to get a simple majority to form the government.
Protests have erupted across the country following allegations of widespread rigging during the general election levelled by Imran Khan’s party PTI and other nationalist groups. With no clear winner declared, the country is in turmoil as multiple parties have laid claim to the government.
Fact or Fiction?
On 11 February 2024, X (formerly Twitter) account Naya Pakistan (@Naya__Pakistan_) shared (archive) a video of candidate Javed Akhtar Khan Lund claiming that he was declared the official winner in two constituencies, NA-184 and PP-286.
The tweet reads,
“مجھے زبردستی جتوایا گیا ہے، میرا مخالف امیدوار سردار فرحت (پی ٹی آئی) جیتا ہوا تھا، جیتے ہوئے کو ہرانا عوام کےمینڈیٹ کی توہین ہے”۔آزاد امیدوار جاوید لنڈ کا جعلی مینڈیٹ لینے سے انکار۔۔ دھاندلی کی مذمت، پی ٹی آئی امیدوار کو مبارکباد دیدی
[“I have been forcefully made to win, my opponent Sardar Farhat (PTI) had won, making the winner lose is an insult to the people’s mandate” – Independent candidate Javed Lund refused to accept a fake mandate. Condemned rigging, congratulated the PTI candidate]”
In the one minute and 35 seconds long clip, Akhtar can be heard saying, “I have been forcibly declared as the winner even though my opponent, Sardar Farhat Abbas [PTI-backed independent candidate] had won. Forcibly defeating the winner is an insult to the people’s mandate. Congratulations to the candidate.”
Soch Fact Check found the claim to be false. According to the official results issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), PML-N’s candidate Abdul Qadir Khan emerged as the winner from NA-184 DG Khan-I with 110,999 votes, while Ali Muhammad, backed by PTI, is the runner-up, securing 109,796 votes. Salahuddin Khan, affiliated with the PML-N, won from PP-286 with 37,513 votes.
The Form-47 for both constituencies indicates that neither was Javed Akhtar Khan declared the winner nor did he come close to securing victory as he bagged only 507 votes for the national assembly seat. With 17,265 for the provincial seat, Javed was in third place.
The candidate Sardar Farhat, congratulated by Javed Akhtar Khan in the viral video, was neither declared the winner by the ECP nor is he backed by the PTI.
Virality:
The claim can be found here, here, here, here and here on X, including by The Pakistan Daily.
The tweet by @Naya__Pakistan_ gained significant traction with 1.7 million views, 76,000 likes and 38,000 reposts.
It was also shared here and here, as well as by verified pages of PTI and its leaders on Facebook, including Maleeka Bokhari, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Sindh, PTI Gilgit Baltistan, PTI Karachi and Insaf TV.
Conclusion: Contrary to Javed Akhtar Khan Lund’s claim, he did not win the elections from NA-184 and PP-286. In fact the ECP’s official results declare PML-N candidates Abdul Qadir Khan and Salahuddin Khan as the winners from these constituencies.
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com
