Fact-check: Rana Sanaullah did not lead Pakistan's contingent at Paris Olympics 2024

Online posts are fueling the claim that Rana Sanaullah Khan, a senior politician of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N and an incumbent minister, is using the Paris Olympics 2024 to go on personal foreign tours with his family. Other posts added that despite Sanaullah's lack of involvement with sports, he was allegedly allowed to head Pakistan’s contingent in Paris.

The claims are untrue.

Claim

On July 29, a user on X (formerly known as Twitter) posted a picture of Sanaullah, the minister for inter-provincial coordination, with the caption: “The only downfall of our sports is: first, a retired General held the Olympics seat for 20 years. Now, all these politicians who have nothing to do with sports are going on tours of the Olympics.”

The post further alleged that while Pakistan had sent only seven players to the games, it had sent 27 officials as well. The post has been viewed over 143,000 times, liked over 4,600 times, and reposted over 1,500 times to date.

A similar claim was shared on Facebook on the same day in the Urdu language.

“This person [Sanaullah] who you can see is leading the Pakistani squad at the Paris Olympics. The funny thing is that a total of seven athletes went while 27 government employees and politicians also went.”

Fact

Sanaullah was not heading Pakistan’s contingent at the Paris Olympics.

In a written response to Geo Fact Check, Khalid Mahmood, the secretary general of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), described the online claims as “misinformation.”

He explained that the federal minister was invited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Paris Organizing Committee as a dignitary.

He added that Sanaullah attended the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics, similar to other sports ministers, as he is the president of the Pakistan Sports Board.

“Honorable federal minister was not part of the contingent of Pakistan participating in the Olympic Games as is being incorrectly circulated in the media. He was a guest of the IOC and Paris Organizing Committee,” the statement further clarified.

Mahmood also provided a breakdown of the 18 athletes and officials who attended the Paris Olympics. The seven athletes were: Arshad Nadeem, Faiqa Riaz, Muhammad Ahmed Durrani, Jehanara Nabi, Ghulam Mustafa Bashir, Gulfam Joseph, and Kishmala Talat.

Contrary to claims, there are not 27 officials accompanying the athletes either.

There are five support personnel for the athletes, three special appointments certified by the IOC, and three officials with the delegation: Muhammad Shafiq (chef-de-mission), Javaid Shamshad Lodhi (deputy chef-de-mission), and Zainab Shaukat (administration official).

Sanaullah is not in the list provided by the Pakistan Olympic Association.

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