Claim: Mohammed bin Salman said as long as Imran Khan, who he referred to as his elder brother, is in jail, he cannot visit Pakistan.
Fact: No such statement was issued by Prince Salman or his office.
On 10 September 2023, an X (formerly, Twitter) user shared an image of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan with the captions:
“شہزادہ سلمان نے کہا عمران خان میرا بڑا بھائ جیل میں ہے میں پاکستان کا دورہ نہیں کر سکتا”
[Translation: Prince Salman said Imran Khan my elder brother is in jail so I cannot visit Pakistan]
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reviewed all mainstream news organisations and searched the web with the keywords “Prince Salman”, “Imran Khan”, “brother”, “jail”, and “Pakistan” in English and Urdu script but we did not find any reports asserting the claim.
We also reviewed all statements and press releases published on the website of the embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the only statement they have published after Imran Khan’s arrest was to announce that the embassy will remain closed for the Pakistani independence day celebration.
A representative from the Saudi embassy in Pakistan confirmed to Soch Fact Check that the crown prince had not issued any statements in Imran Khan’s defence since the former prime minister was jailed in a 3-year sentence for illegally selling state gifts from Toshakhana.
Virality
The tweet in the claim received more than 1 million views and 19,475 interactions on X.
On Facebook, we found the claim here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: Prince Salman did not say he would not visit Pakistan because Imran Khan is in jail.