Fact-check: Gandapur urges Imran Khan to apologise for May 9?

Some social media users have claimed that Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has urged former prime minister Imran Khan to “apologise” for his “past mistakes” and accused certain PTI leaders of involvement in terrorism.

This claim is false. The provincial chief minister has not made such statements.

Claim

On August 11, a user on X (formerly Twitter) shared a 55-second video clip of Gandapur. In the video, the KP CM is heard discussing the need to own up to mistakes, mentioning fashion designer Khadija Shah, and naming politicians Yasmin Rashid and Hammad Azhar.

The user captioned the video with what it claimed were the words of Gandapur in the video clip: “It was my fault. It was my fault that I went to the Corps Commander House in Peshawar. I apologised. Imran Khan should also accept his mistakes and apologise. Recordings of Khadijah Shah, Yasmin Rashid, and Hammad Azhar are available. They were all involved in terrorism.”

The post has garnered about 88,000 views, over 1,200 reposts, and over 1,800 likes to date.

Identical text was also shared on Facebook and Instagram.

Fact

No such statement has been made by the chief minister. The clips circulating online have been manipulated to falsely suggest that Gandapur is demanding an apology from Imran Khan and accusing PTI leaders of terrorism.

Geo Fact Check reviewed the entire 19-minute press talk Gandapur gave on August 3 outside the Central Jail in Rawalpindi. When asked if his party would offer a public apology for the May 9 riots, Gandapur stated he would apologise if his fault was proven. 

His exact words were: “I have said clearly that I am willing to apologise but first prove my fault. But if it is not my fault, then who will apologise to me?”

He then claimed that the riots were pre-planned and that Imran Khan had predicted this would happen to entrap him. (Note: There is no current evidence proving the riots were pre-planned by the then-government, while trials related to the May 9 riots are ongoing.)

Online users have edited the footage to omit key context, making it appear as though Gandapur was insisting that Imran Khan apologise and accusing his colleagues of terrorism.

Regarding PTI leaders, Gandapur’s words have been edited from different parts of his press talk to create a misleading narrative.

In his original press talk, he questioned why politician Andaleeb Abbas, who was allegedly seen chanting slogans on a car roof, was not jailed if Khadija Shah was proven to be driving the car. On Yasmin, Gandapur claimed that she only went as far as outside the Corps Commander House in Lahore, advising people against going inside. He similarly requested proof of other PTI leaders' involvement, including Azhar's.

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