Fact-check: Photo of Afghan refugee children in lock-up is from Karachi

Social media users and Sindh’s information minister claim that the viral picture of imprisoned Afghan children is not from a jail in the Sindh province.

The claim is incorrect.

Claim

A picture being circulated on social media shows four children peering out from behind bars in a jail.

Multiple online users say the image is of a lock-up in Karachi, where Afghan refugee children are being held with their mothers.

However, after the picture began circulating online, Sindh’s Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon denied in a press conference, held on December 30, that the picture was from a prison in Karachi.

“The picture is not of any jail in Sindh,” he said. The minister added that he had checked with local jail authorities and officials before making the statement.

A social media user also tweeted claiming that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was spreading a “fake image” by associating it with Karachi.

Fact

Contrary to the minister’s claim, the picture is from a city court lock-up in Karachi.

Samar Abbas, a legal associate and a human rights defender in Karachi, snapped the picture on December 28 at 11am.

“I took this picture myself, from my phone,” he told Geo Fact Check, over the phone, “The [Afghan refugee] children were being kept in a lock-up in Karachi” before the hearing of a court case.

Abbas added that the Afghan refugee children he met that day were under nine years old.

For proof, Abbas also shared with Geo Fact Check the details of the images he snapped, as well as a video of his photo gallery to verify his statement.

Moreover, Geo Fact Check could not locate this exact image on Google Images, TinEye or Yandex.

This further proves that the image Abbas took is original, and was not present on the internet prior to December 28.

Separately, the woman who can be seen in the picture is Moniza Kakar, an advocate. She also confirmed to Geo Fact Check that the picture was taken at a Karachi city court lock-up.

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