Claim: Sohail Afridi delivered a speech in support of the TTP during the PTI’s long march.A video seemingly shows Afridi referring to the TTP as his brothers who have helped the people of Pakistan while being attacked by the state.
Fact: This claim is false; the video’s audio was manipulated
On 5 October 2026, Wajahat Kazmi – Chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (PEMRA) Sindh Council of Complaints – posted a video on X of KP Chief Minister expressing support for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) during the PTI’s Long March.
Audio from the 33-second Urdu clip has been transbribed into English below:
“To my Pashtuns, this government’s mindset and how it is treating you is turning your brothers against you. Your brothers come for your freedom, but they attack them with drones. Your brothers come to help you. These decision-makers in closed rooms, who launch operations against your brothers. They give our brothers the name of Khawarij. Whereas, during the era of Imran Khan.”
Screenshot of Kazmi’s viral X post.
PTI’s Long March
On 25 September 2026, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced the postponement of their long-planned nationwide protest until 4 October. The protest, which was originally set to take place on 27 September, demands the release of party founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan from prison.
In response to the original announcement, the government took major steps to restrict the scheduled protest, which have been considered disruptive and mishandled by some commentators and citizens.
Most notably, there was a wave of preventive arrests targeting PTI organisers and associated figures, including Khan’s sisters. Amnesty International termed these arrests a “flagrant violation of human rights.”
Representatives from the federal government and the PTI met to discuss an alternate way forward on 2 and 3 October. However, the as talks ended in a deadlock.
On 4 October, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi launched the Long March from southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
From 5 and 6 October 2026, the March progressed through the outskirts of Peshawar. On 7 October 2026, the Long March travelled through Kohat, Peshawar and Darra Adam Khel. By 8 October 2026, the rally had reached Attock and Khairabad borders, which led borders to block entryways to Islamabad. The intended route for the march was reportedly changed several times since it was launched.
Federal authorities have intensified their defensive posture around Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Section 144 has been in Islamabad and Punjab.
A livestream of the procession is available on PTI’s X account.
Fact or Fiction?
No reliable news outlets have reported that Afridi expressed support for the TTP.
Soch Fact Check reviewed PTI’s X posts from 5 October 2026 and found videos of Afridi at the rally, wearing the same clothes and standing with the same individuals as in the viral clip. However, in these authentic videos Afridi does not express support for the TTP or call him their brothers, and neither do the accompanying posts.
Screenshots from PTI’s official X handle.
A reverse image search of a keyframe from the viral video led to PTI’s official YouTube channel, which published the original footage on 5 October 2026 under the title “The second day of the long march has begun! Sohail Afridi’s first major address in Karak.” This matches the date on PTI’s X posts and confirms when the speech was delivered.
The full official speech contains no expression of support for the TTP by the KP Chief Minister, indicating the audio was manipulated. The timing supports this: PTI uploaded the original to YouTube at 3:35pm, while Wajahat’s X post was published at 4:48pm. As the viral video appeared after the original, and the original has no TTP mention, Soch Fact Check concludes that its audio has been manipulated.
Left: Screenshot from Viral X post. Right: Screenshot of Sohail Afridi from PTI’s X .
AI Detection Tool Result
Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector concluded that the videoe 42% likely AI-generated, with the first 8 seconds showing the most manipulation.
Results obtained from Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector.
A second detector, Invidia video detector, produced a result of 30.4%, which the program categorises as greater than the threshold, and therefore likely synthetic or AI-manipulated.
Results obtained from Invidia.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the false claim was shared widely on social media, with one X post garnering views as high as189.1K views.
Some Facebook post sharing the manipulated video have between 1.8K and 2.4K views.
Conclusion: Soch Fact Check concludes the claim to be false as the original footage found from 5 October 2026 does not contain any audio that expresses support for the TTP.
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com