Fact-check: Fake notification claims federal govt has allowed opium cultivation in Balochistan
There are several anomalies in document, such as that letterhead incorrectly states "Minister of Narcotics Control" instead of "Ministry of Narcotics Control"
Updated Wednesday Dec 18 2024
An alleged notification is circulating on WhatsApp groups in Pakistan claiming that the federal government has allowed the cultivation of opium in the Chagai district of Balochistan.
The notification is fake.
Claim
A purported notification, dated December 2 and allegedly issued by the ministry of narcotics control, is circulating online. It claims that the federal government has granted permission to cultivate opium in the Chagai district of Balochistan.
The document bears the name of Syed Sadaat Ali Bokhari, identified as a section officer at the anti-narcotics chemical branch in Islamabad.
Fact
The notification is false, and no such permission has been granted by the federal government.
Qadir Yar Tiwana, director general of media at the interior ministry, told Geo Fact Check that the viral notification is “completely fake.”
Tiwana also shared a press release from the ministry of narcotics control, calling the viral notification a “fabrication and a result of forgery.”
“The ministry of narcotics control clarifies that neither such an approval has been issued, nor is there any policy allowing the cultivation of opium in Balochistan or any other region,” the statement read.
The press release can be accessed here:
Separately, Syed Sadaat Ali Bokhari, whose name appears on the viral document, also confirmed that it is forged.
Bokhari pointed out several glaring errors:
- His name was misspelled as “Bakhari” instead of “Bokhari”.
- The signature on the document does not match his actual signature.
- There was no such thing as an “anti-narcotics chemical branch” in the ministry.
To further prove this, Bokhari shared an old official notification featuring his correct signature with Geo Fact Check.
Bokhari added that he had been transferred from the ministry of narcotics control to the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in September. This further contradicts the viral notification, which is dated December.
Geo Fact Check also identified other anomalies in the document, such as that the letterhead incorrectly states "Minister of Narcotics Control" instead of "Ministry of Narcotics Control". Also, the notification could not be found on the official website of the ministry of narcotics control.
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