Video of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s statement about Imran Khan is old

Claim: Social media posts claim that Kashmiri separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that Imran Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), will govern Pakistan in the new government.

Fact: The claim is false. The video clip is from 2018, when PTI was elected for the first time. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq did not predict that the new government will be under PTI in 2023.

On 23 September 2023, a Facebook user shared a video (archived) with an Urdu caption,

4 سال نظر بندی ختم ہونے کے بعد ممبر پر آتے نیک الفاظ :

پاکستان میں عمران خان صاحب کی پارٹی پاکستان تحریک انصاف ایک مضبوط حکومت بنانے جارہی ہے

میر واعظ عمر فاروق

کم عقل لوگ کب سمجھیں گے

Translated [Good words on coming back to the pulpit after 4 years of detention: Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is going to form a strong government in Pakistan, (said) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. When will these stupid people understand?]

Fact or Fiction?

Soch Fact Check investigated the claim after pro-PTI accounts on social media started sharing it as a new statement from Kashmiri Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was freed by the Indian government on 22 September 2023 after four years of house arrest.

In the 23-second video, Farooq is seen saying a new government is going to form in Pakistan. He further adds that it looks like Imran Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), will form the government.

To investigate, Soch Fact Check conducted a reverse image search on the video’s keyframes but couldn’t find anything credible. Furthermore, a keyword search on Google showed an extended 2-minute long version of the same video, posted on 28 July 2018 by a Facebook page here. In the longer version, Farooq is speaking in Urdu, which translated into English reads, “Elections in Pakistan have ended, a new government is going to be formed and our prayer is that a strong and stable government will be established in Pakistan. It seems that this time Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will form the government.”

Another 5-minute-long version of the same speech was also posted by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s verified Facebook account on 27 July 2018. The video caption reads, “From the pulpit of Jamia Masjid: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq prays for stable and prosper Pakistan. Welcomes Imran Khan’s statement on Kashmir.” 

Virality

Soch Fact Check conducted a keyword search on Facebook and found that the video with the false claim was shared here, here, here, here, and here between 22 – 27 September 2023.

On X (formerly Twitter), it was posted by a blue tick account and received 157k views, 9,800 likes, and 3,900 reposts. The archived versions can be seen here, here, and here.

Conclusion: The video of Kashmiri leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq making a statement that Imran Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), will form government in Pakistan is from 2018.

Background image in cover photo: Getty Images

To submit an appeal on our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com