Fact-check: Posts falsely claim Nawaz Sharif threatened to 'destroy the country'

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has claimed that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has threatened to “destroy the country”, if the Supreme Court’s decision in the Punjab assembly election case did not favor his political party, the ruling-Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N).

The claim is false.

Claim

The PTI’s official Twitter account posted a clip from a press conference of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, held in London on March 31, with a purported quote from Sharif: “Even if the constitution is violated, if the decision does not come in our favor, we will destroy the country.”

“The absconder, who escaped Pakistan using the excuse of an illness, is sitting in London and threatening the Supreme Court and 220 million people,” the tweet added.

A similar claim was shared by another Twitter user.

Fact

The allegation is incorrect. No such statement was made by Sharif during his press talk on March 31.

Geo Fact Check watched the entire 16-minute-presser of the former prime minister posted by multiple Pakistani news channels and uploaded on the official Twitter handle of the Pakistan Muslim League-N.

Even in the clip posted by the PTI the former prime minister cannot be heard making any such statement.

In fact, in the video he said: “I don’t know where they will take us. If this decision, God forbid, comes, the dollar will go up to Rs500.”

In reality, the original quote made by Sharif was: “I don’t know where today’s decisions will take us. This decision that they are about to make. Protect yourselves. Do what you can. Stand up against those who want to take this country to the edge of destruction. If this decision comes then the dollar will shoot up to Rs500.”

On March 31, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan was hearing a case into the delay in the Punjab assembly election. Earlier in the day the bench had rejected the Attorney General for Pakistan’s request for the formation of a full court to hear the case.

With additional reporting by Binyameen Iqbal.

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