Recent picture of PTI founder Imran Khan from Adiala Jail

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team has checked this content and has established that it is false.

To arrive at this verdict, the iVerify Pakistan team conducted a reverse image search to determine whether the circulated picture was old or recent.

Since August 27, 2024, multiple posts have been circulating on various social media platforms sharing a picture of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan, claiming it was a recent image of him from Adiala Jail. However, the picture is actually from August 19, 2018, when he spent his first day at his Bani Gala office after becoming prime minister.

Imran is currently incarcerated in Adiala Jail. He has been imprisoned for over a year. Although his sentences in the previous two Toshakhana cases were suspended, and he was acquitted in the cipher and iddat cases, he remains in custody.

HOW IT STARTED

On August 27, a user on X who appeared to be a PTI supporter according to his past posts shared a picture of Imran with a security guard with the caption, “New picture of Imran Khan from Adiala Jail.”

Imran could be seen wearing a black shirt with the number 804 written on it, the PTI founder’s prisoner number.

The post was seen by more than 153,000 people.

The same claim and image were shared by other X users as well as can be seen here and here.

The same picture with the same claim was also shared on YouTube as can be seen here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to verify the claim due to its virality and the keen public interest in the incarcerated former prime minister’s affairs.

A reverse image search conducted to investigate the image yielded a news story by Dawn News on August 19, 2018, titled: “How did Prime Minister Imran Khan spend the first day?”

According to the news report, on his first day as prime minister, Imran had combined work with his morning jog, handling official duties while exercising in a T-shirt and trousers at Bani Gala. He then consulted with key political figures about forming the cabinet and planning future actions.

The news story featured the same picture of Imran in a black T-shirt and cap, accompanied by a security guard with the only difference being that the number 804 was not present in the original image.

The news report sourced the image to Imran’s Facebook page.

The same picture with a security guard was also used by Channel 5 in its news story published on August 20, 2018, about Imran’s first day in office.

The picture claimed to be a recent one from Adiala Jail has the number 804 crudely edited in, which is evident upon inspection since the brightness of its white differs from other logos on Imran’s attire.

Furthermore, Pakistani media has already covered a report submitted by the government to the Supreme Court on the jail facilities afforded to Imran. One of the facilities provided is an exclusive gallery for the PTI founder to walk in twice a day. The gallery is completely closed off and not outdoors or containing any foliage, unlike the viral image.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim regarding a recent picture of PTI founder Imran Khan from Adiala Jail is false.

The circulated picture is actually from August 2018 when Imran spent his first day in office at Bani Gala as the prime minister. The shirt he originally wore did not have 804 written on it and nor do his current facilities in Adiala Jail even remotely resemble the setting of the viral image.

Evidence and References

August 19, 2018, Dawn News report:
https://www.dawnnews.tv/news/1085346

August 20, 2018, Channel 5 news story
https://channelfivepakistan.tv/author/khabrain1/page/1925/