CLAIM

Viral video showing CM Maryam’s “slip of tongue” in remarks about her father and fulfilling promises

RATING JUSTIFICATION

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

To reach this conclusion, the team reviewed the complete original livestream of the rally and corroborated with the versions of the clip circulating online.

Several Pakistani users and news outlets were sharing a clip of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s address at a Mianwali rally on social media since February 12, 2026, highlighting a “slip of tongue” in which she compared herself to her father while discussing fulfilling promises. However, her meaning was clear in a follow-up remark and she was likening herself to Nawaz.

CM Maryam announced development projects worth billions of rupees for Mianwali during a public gathering at the Government High School grounds on Feb 12.

She also addressed the gathering in a public speech.

HOW IT STARTED

A clip from CM Maryam’s address at the gathering in Mianwali about her father, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, sparked widespread debate on social media with users, journalists and media outlets such as Express News, Capital TV, GNN News, Neo News, Such News, Daily Qudrat, sharing the segment as a “slip of the tongue” in which she allegedly mistakenly criticised her father’s performance in fulfilling promises.

The transcript of the viral clip is provided below:

“People of Mianwali, this is not just a claim. Maryam Nawaz does not merely make claims like Nawaz Sharif she also shows work being done.”

Digital media outlet Pakistan Connect shared the viral clip as a “slip of tongue” on its Instagram and Facebook page with the following caption: “Maryam Nawaz, like Nawaz Sharif, does not make claims; she shows results through work، a slip of the tongue by Maryam Nawaz“.

The posts gained 460,000 views collectively.

The video was shared by multiple other digital media outlets, such as True Pakistan Times and Voice News, with the same context.

Journalist Murtaza Ali Shah shared the same clip on TikTok with a similar caption, garnering 681,000 views and 29,000 likes.

Journalist Khurram Iqbal also shared the clip on social media platform X on Feb 12 with the following caption: “Maryam Nawaz doesn’t just claim like Nawaz Sharif; she shows by doing, Maryam Nawaz’s tongue slipped!!”

The post gained 303,400 views.

Senior journalist Hamid Mir reshared Iqbal’s post, gaining over 263,000 views.

A pro-PTI account, based on its past posts, also shared the same clip on X with the following caption: “Maryam Nawaz doesn’t just make claims like Nawaz Sharif; she shows her work by doing it. Maryam Nawaz.”

The post gained 9,629 views.

The same video was shared by other pro-PTI accounts on X, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Responding to the viral clip, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari shared a clip on X that she claimed showed the Punjab chief minister’s actual remarks with the following caption: “Salute to the great journalists whose journalism is so impeccable that they are spreading a fake edited video by calling it a ‘slip of the tongue’. Here is the original video.”

The post gained 56,200 views.

The transcription of the video is provided below:

“The days are gone, people of Mianwali, when votes were taken from Mianwali but the city was left to suffer. Now, Mianwali will not have to go to someone else’s doorstep to claim its rights. Maryam Nawaz Sharif will, God willing, knock on your door and deliver your rights due to you in your own city. And as you know, now the whole world knows that when Maryam Nawaz Sharif makes a promise like Nawaz Sharif, then she rests only after fulfilling it.”

Another account, which appears to be pro-PML-N based on its past posts, also shared the same clip, stating: “Original and edited video. The edited video was first uploaded by a YouTuber reporter named Khurram Iqbal. Now, what action will be taken against him?”

That post gained 26,200 views.

The clip was subsequently shared by several other pro-PMLN users across X, as can be seen here, here, and here.

However, Iqbal had not shared the same video as claimed by the account.

Several users in the comments section of the post were seen disputing the Punjab information minister and the pro-PML-N account’s videos of the chief minister’s address, posting recordings of their own of her remarks.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the matter, particularly after the Punjab information minister’s response.

Listening to the clip shows that the reason for the remarks being interpreted as a “slip of tongue” came down to an issue of pausing and punctuation.

The transcript of the remark is the following: “People of Mianwali, this is not just a claim. Maryam Nawaz does not merely make claims like Nawaz Sharif she also shows work being done.”

The above can be written in two ways, with different meanings depending on where the punctuation or pause is placed.

Version 1: “People of Mianwali, this is not just a claim. Maryam Nawaz does not merely make claims like Nawaz Sharif, she also shows work being done.”

Version 2: “People of Mianwali, this is not just a claim. Maryam Nawaz does not merely make claims, like Nawaz Sharif she also shows work being done.”

The first version, the one that was understood by the wide majority of the audience, means that she is comparing herself with her father and drawing a distinction; saying that, unlike her father, she does not merely make claims but also works on fulfilling them.

The second version means she is comparing herself with her father and drawing a similarity, that just as he does, she also works on fulfilling the claims she makes.

Reviewing her full Mianwali speech aired by Geo News shows that the remarks included in the clip being spread by online users and journalists can be heard at the 3:08-minute mark.

Checking the rest of the speech shows that she returns to making the same point at the 9:50-minute mark and is clearer about what she meant regarding her father and fulfilling promises or claims.

The transcript is provided below:

“The days are gone, people of Mianwali, when votes were taken from Mianwali but the city was left to suffer. Now, Mianwali will not have to go to someone else’s doorstep to claim its rights. Maryam Nawaz Sharif will, God willing, knock on your door and deliver your rights due to you in your own city. And as you know, now the whole world knows that when Maryam Nawaz Sharif makes a promise like Nawaz Sharif, then she rests only after fulfilling it.”

The remark makes it explicit that she was likening her ability to fulfil promises to her father, since her follow-up remark after mentioning Nawaz’s name comes with a slight pause.

She did not compare herself to her father.

The same was also found in the full version of the rally uploaded on YouTube by the PML-N.

At the 4-minute mark, CM Maryam makes the same remark shared by Mir and Iqbal, and the one construed as a “slip of tongue”.

Meanwhile, the remarks shared by Bukhari can be heard at the 10:40-minute mark.

The two videos also confirm that the Punjab information minister was wrong in calling out the viral clip as being a “fake edited video” since CM Maryam made both sets of remarks at different points in her speech.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: MISLEADING

The claim that a viral video shows a “slip of tongue” by CM Maryam about her father and his and her ability to fulfil promises is misleading.

A follow-up remark in the same speech makes it clear that she was not comparing herself, but likening herself to her father and meant that both fulfilled the promises and claims they made.

The misunderstanding arose due to the meaning of her first remark being changed depending on where the appropriate pause or punctuation was placed, along with users and journalists not mentioning the full context of her speech, where the second remark makes her meaning clear.

Furthermore, the Punjab information minister’s claim about the viral clip being inauthentic was also wrong since the chief minister made two separate comments — those shown in the viral clip and those shown in the video shared by Bukhari.

EVIDENCE AND REFERENCES

Feb 13, 2026, Geo News YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6EeNtVb_yo

Feb 13, 2026, PML-N YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJix-HbIf_o