Fact-check: Justice Athar Minallah did not visit Imran Khan in prison
Officials from the Supreme Court of Pakistan and Rawalpindi's Central Jail refute recent visits by Justice Athar Minallah
Pakistani social media users are sharing a video which purportedly shows Supreme Court’s Justice Athar Minallah visiting former prime minister Imran Khan in prison, after Khan complained about allegedly being denied entitled facilities.
The claim is false. The video predates Khan’s arrest.
Claim
On June 1, a social media user posted a 26-second video on X, formerly known as Twitter, which allegedly depicts government vehicles entering the Central Jail in Rawalpindi, where Khan has been held since August.
The footage then cuts to Justice Athar Minallah speaking to prison officials.
The voiceoverclaims Minallah's visit followed Khan's complaint in the Supreme Court on May 30 about the military's alleged control of the jail. This post has been viewed over 30,000 times, reposted over 200 times and liked over 600 times, to date.
Similar claims have also been shared here, here and here.
Fact
Officials from the Supreme Court of Pakistan and Rawalpindi's Central Jail refute a recent visit by Justice Athar Minallah to the prison. The video in question dates back to 2022, unrelated to Khan's imprisonment.
Dr Shahid Hussain Kamboyo, the Supreme Court's public relations officer, labelled claims of Justice Minallah's June 1 visit as "fake," asserting Minallah was in Karachi that day, not Islamabad.
Additionally, Asad Javed Warraich, the superintendent of the jail, also told Geo TV’s journalist Shabbir Dar over the phone that there was “no such thing”.
A reverse image search confirmed the video's 2022 origin when Justice Minallah, then chief justice of the Islamabad High Court, visited Rawalpindi's Central Jail with two other judges after the National Commission for Human Rights submitted a report on custodial torture. The press release is available here.
Footage of the judge’s visit was broadcasted and reported by several news channels.
With additional reporting by Geo's Shabbir Dar.
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