Alleged statement of PML-N’s Captain Safdar admitting to electoral fraud in general elections 2024

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan compared the viral image attributed to digital news outlet ABC Urdu News with other social posts on their feed along with any news reports on the alleged statement attributed to PML-N leader Captain Safdar.

Posts from multiple users across social media platforms since January 31, 2025, shared a post quoting Captain Safdar as saying that the 2024 elections were rigged. However, the post was edited and Captain Safdar never made such remarks.

The PTI has announced a public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan, Lahore on February 8 to mark “black day” as it continues to accuse the government of “stealing their mandate” in last year’s general elections through widescale rigging.

HOW IT STARTED

On Jan 31, a user, who appears to be a PTI supporter based on his past posts, shared a post on X with pictures of Captain Safdar Awan and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir.

The post attributed the following quote to Captain Safdar, “Before they make me crazy like Liaquat Chatta, they want to keep me away from social media. I swear on the holy names of Allah, the 2024 election was completely stolen, Asim Munir gave us the government.”

The caption of the post said, “This is not being said by any ordinary person, but by Maryam Nawaz’s husband. What greater testimony could there be than this?”

The post received 57,900 views and was reshared 2,400 times.

The visual was shared by other users on X as can be seen here, here and here.

Former National Assembly deputy speaker and PTI leader Qasim Khan Suri also shared the post on his Instagram account.

The visual was widely shared across YouTube here, here, here and here.

Other social media users also shared the post on Instagram and TikTok here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and the highly implausible nature of the quote since it was about Captain Safdar allegedly admitting to electoral fraud and the army chief’s supposed involvement in the matter.

Checking the X timeline of ABC Urdu News showed no such post shared on it or on its other social media pages.

Furthermore, a comparison of the alleged visual under investigation with the other social shares recently published on the outlet’s X timeline showed several discrepancies.

The post with the quote attributed to Captain Safdar contained his name in a green box while the news outlet mentioned the name of whoever it was quoting in a blue box.

Another discrepancy observed was that the name of the outlet was in segregated boxes in the post under investigation whereas the outlet’s recent posts showed its name inside a blue box consistently across its many shares.

Moreover, the blue strip below also lacked uniformity and the contact information about the other social media pages stretched end to end whereas the original posts featured a smooth line featuring the outlet’s usernames on other social media platforms centred in the middle with considerable distance remaining on the left and right.

Additionally, a keyword search for any credible news report reporting on Captain Safdar’s alleged statement yielded no results, not even any articles or reports based on anonymous or insider sources, which, considering the gravity of his supposed remarks, about admitting to electoral fraud and the army chief’s role in the matter, did not make sense.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim regarding a visual of a digital media platform with an alleged statement attributed to PML-N’s Captain Safdar admitting to electoral fraud in last year’s general elections with the army chief’s involvement is false.

The viral graphic was shown to be a certifiable manipulated fake and no credible record or evidence was found for the statement ever being made by the PML-N leader.

Evidence and References