Notification implying PTI changed official candidates in Attock is fake

Claim: PTI cancelled the nomination of candidates Major Tahir Sadik and Eman Tahir in NA-49 and NA-50, respectively.

Fact: The claim is false because the political party has issued no such notification before the general elections.

On 7 February 2024, a user posted an image on Facebook with an Urdu caption,

“اہم ترین: پی ٹی آئی نے اٹک سے میجر طاہر صادق اور ایمان طاہر کے ٹکٹ کینسل کر دیے، یہ نوٹیفیکیشن عمران خان کا آڈیو پیغام جاری ہونے سے پہلے پی ٹی آئی کے واٹس ایپ گروپوں میں گردش کر رہا تھا۔”

[Translation: Most Important: PTI cancelled tickets of Major Tahir Sadiq and Eman Tahir from Attock, this notification was circulating in PTI WhatsApp groups before Imran Khan’s audio message was released.]

The image initially circulating on WhatsApp shows a notification dated 6 February with the PTI logo. The image is shared as a piece of news by Geo News and is accompanied by Geo’s official logo.

Elections 2024

Ahead of the general elections on 8 February 2024, the political landscape is characterised by distinct circumstances for major political parties, and the shadow of alleged military interference.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) are contesting elections separately after forming a coalition government in 2022. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI); faces obstacles with multiple key leaders and supporters behind bars, defections, the loss of its cricket bat symbol, and multiple independent candidates raising concerns about fair campaigning and a level playing field.

In the days leading up to the general elections of 2024, Soch Fact Check has observed an influx of false and misleading claims, especially regarding election boycotts that may impact public opinion and voter behaviour.

Fact or Fiction?

To investigate, Soch Fact Check checked the list of PTI candidates for the National Assembly for the upcoming general elections and found that both Major Tahir Sadik and his daughter Eman Tahir are contesting elections from NA-49 and 50, respectively.

Furthermore, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) verified the notification as fake on their official X account on 6 February. The post caption reads, “Be aware of fake notifications. All notifications regarding PTI and candidates are released by official account only.”

For clarification, Soch Fact Check sent a message with the constituency numbers ‘NA-49 & NA-50’ to the official Facebook page of Imran Khan – (a chatbot method introduced by PTI to get updates on the party’s nominated candidates), and the same names came up there.

A keyword search with the post caption and Geo News did not turn up any evidence providing that the news channel posted the false notification either.

Virality

On X, the fake notification received 18,600 views, 1000 likes and 500 reposts within 3 hours after it was posted. It can be seen here and here.

It was also shared here, here and here on Facebook.

Conclusion: The notification implying that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) cancelled the tickets of candidates on national assembly tickets from NA-49 and 50 constituencies is fake.

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Background image in cover photo:  The Friday Times

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