Claim: Pakistan has cancelled a deal with Turkey to acquire 30 T129 ATAK helicopters. Fact: Pakistan has not cancelled the helicopter deal with Turkey. Fact or Fiction? On 5 January 2022, Facebook page The Bangladesh Defence Analyst made the following claim in a post: “DG ISPR has confirmed that Pakistan Army Aviation is going to […]
Claim: The Government of Sindh has ordered the closure of schools across the province and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has suggested imposing a lockdown due to the concerning COVID-19 situation. Fact: The chief minister said the decision to impose a lockdown and close schools would be taken in line with National Command and Operation […]
Claim: A video circulating on social media allegedly depicts an excavator crane crashing into a ditch while carrying out relief work in Murree following a disastrous road blockage that left 22 dead. Fact: The video does show a crane overturning and slipping into a ditch, but it is from 2020 and was not taken in […]
Claim: The animal in the photograph is a Himalayan Yak captured on camera in Khaplu Valley, Gilgit-Baltistan. Fact: The photo shows a bison, not a yak, and was taken by Tom Murphy in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. On 1 January 2022, a tweet was sent to Soch Fact Check for verification. In […]
Claim: A truck driver who was stopped on Karachi’s University Road for allegedly offending the religious sentiments of Muslims said his vehicle is owned by PepsiCo India. Fact: The truck in question does not belong to PepsiCo India, nor did the driver say his truck is owned by PepsiCo India. The word ‘India’ was not […]
Claim: Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered banks to implement a ‘shalwar kameez’ dress code. Fact: Khan made the comment informally, perhaps as a joke, and did not issue any orders or endorse the idea in any official capacity. On 30 December 2021, Pakistani news website Global Village Space (GVS) published a report headlined, “Wear […]
Claim: The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) collaborated with Government College University (GCU) Lahore to organise the Harry Potter Festival in December 2021. Fact: The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) had no involvement in the Harry Potter Festival hosted by Government College University (GCU) Lahore, according to an official of the WCLA. On […]
Claim: Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah said, “We are all Pakistanis and none of us is Sindhi, Balochi, Pathan or Punjabi. We should be proud to be Pakistani only and only.” Fact: The quote is being wrongly attributed to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in posts shared online. Jinnah did not say, “We are all Pakistanis and […]
Claim: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was “expelled from the Conference of Islamic Countries” over his condemnation of the Shree Ram Temple’s construction in Ayodhya, India. The Saudi Arabian king kicked him out and was lauded by other Islamic countries. Fact: Khan did not attend the 47th CFM meeting in 2020 that was mentioned in […]
Claim: The Newsweek magazine’s cover page for its December 2021 issue features bold text stating that “Pakistan proved the prophecy right” — referring to an October 2007 cover — since “it has been declared the most intolerant nation in the world”. Fact: The Newsweek magazine published four issues in December 2021; none of them featured […]
Claim: A video is being circulated with the claim that Prime Minister Imran Khan has suffered a serious injury — possibly a spinal cord fracture — following a fall from an elevator. According to the claims, Khan has been hospitalized and will undergo an operation. Fact: Khan has not been recently injured; the video is […]
Claim: Pakistan received $70 million in stolen antiquities after US billionaire Michael Steinhardt surrendered his collection. Fact: None of Steinhardt’s stolen antiquities are of Pakistani origin and the country and no artifacts were returned to Pakistan in December 2021. On 10 December 2021, Soch Fact Check received the link to an Instagram post stating that […]