Fact-check: BBC Urdu did not report that PTI's Ali Amin Gandapur fled to Afghanistan in burqa
Geo Fact Check reviewed article whose screenshot was circulating. It was found that the screenshot was from a BBC Urdu report published on Oct 5, 2023
Updated Wednesday Sep 11 2024
A screenshot of a BBC Urdu report is being circulated online, claiming that the media outlet reported Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has fled to Afghanistan disguised in a burqa.
This alleged flight is said to have occurred to avoid a state crackdown on PTI’s leadership following a political rally in Islamabad on September 8.
The claim is baseless.
Claim
On September 10, a user on X (formerly Twitter) with the account name "Dr Syeda Sadaf" shared a screenshot purportedly from BBC Urdu. The accompanying caption read: “As per BBC Urdu, Ali Amin [Gandapur] has fled to Afghanistan wearing a burqa.”
The user further alleged that Gandapur obtained an Afghan Tazkira (an official identity document in Afghanistan) under a woman's name. The post also claimed Gandapur's escape was facilitated by relatives of a patient at the Rehman Medical Institute in Peshawar.
As of now, the post has garnered over 2,000 views and nearly 82 likes.
Similar claims were shared on Threads and Facebook.
Fact
BBC Urdu did not report that the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa fled across the border to Afghanistan on the night of September 9.
Zeeshan Haider, the news editor at BBC Urdu, told Geo Fact Check via messages: “We did not report anything like this.”
On September 8, former prime minister Imran Khan’s PTI held a rally on the outskirts of Pakistan’s capital Islamabad to demand the release of Khan from prison. After the rally, several leaders and lawmakers belonging to the party were arrested in overnight police raids.
Additionally, Geo Fact Check reviewed the article whose screenshot was circulating. It was found that the screenshot was from a BBC Urdu report published on October 5, 2023, and focused instead on the Pakistani government's plans to expel undocumented foreigners, primarily Afghans, from the country.
You can read the original BBC Urdu article here.
The X account "Dr Syeda Sadaf" (@DrSyeda_Sadaf) has been debunked multiple times by Geo Fact Check for spreading misinformation. Previous fact checks related to this account can be read here, here and here.
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