Fatwa against voting for PML-N

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team has checked this content and has established that it is misleading since the clip of Muslim scholars is an old video.

To arrive to this verdict, the iVerify Pakistan team analysed the video and sourced it back to November 2017.

HOW IT STARTED

The earliest mention of the 27-second clip in the current news cycle that the iVerify Pakistan team found was by a PTI supporter on January 15, 2024.

The post did not mention a time, place or date for the video. The video itself showed a group of religious scholars giving a fatwa against voting for the PML-N during a press conference at the Faisalabad Press Club.

“Fatwa of scholars that voting for the PML-N is a sin and forbidden! This fatwa was unanimously given by scholars across the country. Deliver the video to all Muslims,” the post’s caption said.

The X post was viewed more than 64,000 times and reshared 4,000 times.

The same video and caption were shared by other PTI supporters as well, here, here, here and here.

During the investigation, the team found that the same video was circulated several times in the previous months and years as well.

The same clip was shared by a user on April 3, 2022.

Similarly, a PTI supporter posted the same video on August 9, 2023.

Another X user shared the same clip on September 2, 2023, with a viewership of more than 260,000 users.

METHODOLOGY

Investigating the video, the iVerify Pakistan team conducted a keyword search on “fatwa” and “PML-N” and found the same video uploaded by news agency 24NewsHD on YouTube on November 26, 2017.

Additionally, further searching yielded a news report from November 27, 2017, on the website of journalist Javed Chaudhry, titled: “Voting for PML-N forbidden, unlawful and sin, scholars issue fatwa”

The report said that religious scholars issued a fatwa saying that voting for the PML-N was forbidden during a press conference in Faisalabad.

The news story added that the press conference came amid protests in the country over the 2017 Faizabad sit-in in Islamabad by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan and the then-PML-N government’s response to it.

FAIZABAD 2017 SIT-IN

According to Dawn.com, for 20 days from October 2 to November 27, 2017, protesters belonging to religiopolitical parties, including the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, occupied Islamabad’s Faizabad Interchange which connects Rawalpindi and the federal capital through the Islamabad Expressway and Murree Road — two of the busiest roads in the twin cities.

The agitators claimed that during the passage of the Elections Act 2017, a clause relating to a candidate’s belief in the finality of the prophethood of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) ─ the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat oath — was deliberately modified as part of a larger conspiracy. The amendment to the oath was deemed a “clerical error” by the then-PML-N government and was subsequently rectified through an act of Parliament.

The government had attempted to negotiate in vain with the protesters to end the sit-in several times. Finally, it launched an operation to disperse the protesters, in which at least six people were killed and scores others injured. After the botched operation, the government decided to call in the army for help.

Negotiations were undertaken with protesters once again, and the government accepted a number of their demands in return for ending the protest, including the resignation of the then-law minister Zahid Hamid.

The PML-N government’s response to the situation was widely criticised by opposition parties at the time.

CONCLUSION

The iVerify Pakistan team has determined that the clip circulating on social media is misleading as it is an old video from November 2017 of religious scholars in Faisalabad issuing a fatwa against the PML-N amid the Faizabad sit-in rather than having anything to do with the upcoming February 8, 2024, general elections.

The posts sharing the video do not place any identifiable markers on it such as the time, date, place, location, setting or the context of the clip.

Evidence and References

YouTube video of 24NewsHD from November 26, 2017:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b62JN-jH2I

News story on website of journalist Javed Chaudhry from November 27, 2017:
https://javedch.com/latest-news/2017/11/27/385859