Claim: The newly-elected Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi has removed the Quaid-e-Azam’s portrait and the national flag from his office.
Fact: The claim is false. The image accompanying the viral claim is a zoomed-in frame that does not show Jinnah’s portrait and the Pakistani flag. However, a review of the available footage revealed both the flag and portrait were present in the office when the KP CM entered his office.
X user @RShahzaddk shared an image of the newly-elected Chief Minister of KP, Sohail Afridi, writing, “وزیراعلی کے پی کے دفتر سے پاکستان کا جھنڈا اور قائداعظم کی تصویر ہٹا دی گئ”
[Translation: The flag of Pakistan and the portrait of Quaid-e-Azam have been removed from the office of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister.]
Information and Culture Minister of Punjab, Azma Bokhari, also shared the image, writing, “#قومی_پرچم_کیوں_ہٹایا
قائد اعظم کی تصویر کہاں ہے؟”
[Translation: #Why_was_the_national_flag_removed
Where is Quaid-e-Azam’s portrait?]
Sohail Afridi resumes office as KP Chief Minister
On 8 October, jailed PTI founder Imran Khan announced that his party is replacing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister and nominating Sohail Afridi for the role. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja made the announcement after meeting the former prime minister in Adiala Jail, reported Anadolu Agency. On 10 October, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said he had not officially received Ali Amin Gandapur’s resignation, contradicting PTI’s claim that the letter was submitted at the Governor House on the night of 8 October, reported Samaa News. In an interview with Samaa TV, Kundi clarified that none of his authorised officials, including the chief secretary, military secretary, or secretary, had received the document.
On 13 October, the governor rejected and returned Gandapur’s resignation, questioning the authenticity of his signature and summoning him to the Governor House on 15 October at 3pm for verification. On the same day, KP’s lawmakers elected Sohail Afridi as the new chief minister, replacing Ali Amin Gandapur, who resigned earlier amid PTI’s internal reshuffle, according to Arab News. Afridi secured a clear majority in the provincial assembly session held in Peshawar. On 15 October, the Peshawar High Court directed governor Kundi to administer the oath to the chief minister-elect at 4 pm the same day, ruling that if he failed to do so, KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati would carry out the task instead. Subsequently, Afridi took his oath of office on 15 October. The oath was administered by KP governor at the Governor’s House in Peshawar, in the presence of PTI supporters, according to Dawn. “Kundi congratulated Afridi on assuming office, with the latter becoming the 22nd chief executive of KP,” reported Dawn.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched the viral image and traced it to a YouTube video shared on 15 October. It was titled: “_تاریخی ویڈیو🚨_ _سہیل آفریدی وزیر اعلیٰ کی کرسی پر براجمان ہو گئے ۔🔥✊_”
[Translation: Historic video 🚨 Sohail Afridi has taken the Chief Minister’s seat. 🔥✊]
A side-by-side comparison confirms that the viral image was screenshotted from 0:06 mark of this footage.
A wider shot at 0:12 confirmed that both the portrait and the flag were present in the office.
Soch Fact Check then reviewed additional footage, including a video shared by KP Chief Minister’s official social media accounts. In the video, Jinnah’s portrait is visible on the right side of the frame.
Additional footage shared on YouTube shows the new Chief Minister entering his office the first time since his election. From 0:00 to 0:05, Jinnah’s portrait on the wall and a small Pakistani flag placed on the desk are visible. Although this footage is filmed from a different angle, it features the same people seen in the viral image.
Afridi’s outfit in the footage matches the one he’s seen wearing in the viral image. The man in the blue shalwar kameez also appears in both the viral image and PTI’s video. Additionally, the man in the black suit pulling out the chair for Afridi is visible in both the viral image and the YouTube footage.
Virality
The claim was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook. Archived here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On X, it was shared here, here, here, here, and here. Archived here, here, here, here, and here.
On Instagram, it was shared here (archive).
Conclusion: The image accompanying the viral claim is a zoomed-in frame of footage shared online. However, a review of this footage along with additional footage revealed that both Jinnah’s portrait and a Pakistani flag were present in the office when Afridi entered his office.
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Background image in cover photo: IamSohailAfridi/Facebook
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