Fact-check: False statement attributed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister about expelling Punjab residents

Social media is awash with screenshots claiming that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur called for the expulsion of residents of Punjab from his province.

The claim is false.

Claim

On June 22, a user on X (formerly Twitter) shared a graphic questioning whether KP CM Gandapur had made such a statement. The graphic includes a picture of the chief minister with Urdu text stating: “Punjabi-speaking people are a dirty lot, get out from our province [KP].”

The post has been viewed over 13,000 times and reposted over 100 times.

Fact

Three senior government officials in KP province have denied that the chief minister announced any expulsion of Punjabis.

Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, advisor to the chief minister on information, clarified via messages to Geo Fact Check that the online claims are “fake.”

Arshad Khan, secretary of the information and public relations department, and Zar Wali, press secretary to the KP chief minister, also stated that no such decision or announcement had been made by Gandapur.

Wali said over the phone, “The claims are completely false and baseless.”

Additionally, Geo Fact Check conducted a search for the alleged quote by Gandapur online and found no credible news outlet reporting it since he assumed office as chief minister in March.

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