Claim: An image shows Maryam Nawaz wearing a short pink dress, alongside two senior Punjab Police officers in bright pink clothes.
Fact: The picture has been doctored, likely using the Generative Fill tool of Adobe Photoshop that uses artificial intelligence (AI).
On 26 April 2024, X (formerly Twitter) user @MehreenAli99 posted (archive) a picture of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif in a short pink silk dress, standing with Punjab Inspector General (IG) of Police, Usman Anwar, and the commandant of the Police Training College (PTC) Lahore, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Mehboob Aslam Lilla.
In the picture, Anwar is seen sporting a floral pink blazer, pink dress pants, and hot pink sneakers, whereas Lilla dons a pink suit and bowtie, with black formal shoes. All three, including Sharif, are wearing police caps.
@MehreenAli99 captioned the image as follows:
“Hum aik Qoum kis taraf ja rahe hain? Totally unacceptable 💔
[Where are we heading towards as a nation? Totally unacceptable 💔]”
The image surfaced the day Nawaz attended a passing-out parade of Punjab Police women constables and traffic assistants at the Police Training College Lahore, located in Chung.
The provincial chief minister’s appearance at the ceremony in a Punjab Police uniform, carrying a swagger stick, made headlines, leading many to criticise the gesture, while others lauded it. In fact, Aftab Ahmad Bajwa — a Lahore-based former advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan — approached a session court on behalf of petitioner Waqar Ahmed, seeking an order for authorities to register a case against Sharif “for ‘impersonating’ a police officer”.
However, the Punjab Police rebuked the criticism, saying the chief minister “is entitled to wear the police uniform” as per its dress regulations.
As per the 'Punjab Police Dress Regulations', the CM of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, is entitled to wear the police uniform. This has been widely celebrated by the police personnel, who view it as a commendable show of solidarity. The Central Police Office has received hundreds… pic.twitter.com/GFtXBNSuZo
— Punjab Police Official (@OfficialDPRPP) April 25, 2024
“This has been widely celebrated by the police personnel, who view it as a commendable show of solidarity,” Punjab Police wrote.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched the image but did not find any that featured Sharif in a pink dress.
However, we were able to locate the original image of Sharif attending the passing-out parade that was posted to the official accounts of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), as well as several journalists and media outlets.
Lilla, the PTC Lahore commandant, also posted images from the ceremony in a Facebook post, which includes some photos — albeit from a slightly different perspective — featuring him alongside Nawaz and Punjab IG Anwar.
The viral visual may have been altered with the Adobe Firefly-powered Generative Fill tool of Adobe Photoshop that uses artificial intelligence (AI). When we created some similar images to test our hypothesis, the results suggested that the same tool was very likely used to doctor the photo.
(Note: The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth visuals below are not real and were created using Adobe Photoshop’s Generative Fill tool to test a hypothesis; we have accordingly watermarked them as such)
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that the viral image showing Maryam Nawaz Sharif in a short pink dress along with two top Punjab Police officers in bright pink attire is doctored.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the image posted on X here, here, here, here, here, and here.
One of the most viral posts carrying the image that we found on Facebook can be viewed here, where it garnered over 15,000 reactions, 2,600 shares, and 1,300 comments. Others can be seen here, here, here, here, and here.
The image was also shared as a video on TikTok and YouTube here, here, here, and here. On Instagram, it appeared here and here.
Conclusion: An image showing Maryam Nawaz Sharif wearing a short pink dress has been doctored, likely using the Generative Fill tool of Adobe Photoshop that uses artificial intelligence (AI).
Background image in cover photo: TheMaryamNSharif
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