Defence Minister Khawaja Asif claims Imran Khan and PTI have never condemned Israel’s Gaza atrocities

Rating Justification

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

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan checked the official accounts of PTI founder Imran Khan and the party for statements and comments regarding the devastating ongoing Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif alleged on November 19, 2024, that Imran and the PTI had never spoken out against or condemned Israel’s atrocities in Gaza. However, Imran and the PTI have condemned Israel’s actions several times.

Hamas staged an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which shattered Israel’s aura of invincibility and left 1,200 people killed and over 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded with its most destructive offensive in Gaza yet, killing nearly 44,000 people and wounding 103,898, according to the Gaza health ministry, and turning the enclave into a wasteland of rubble with millions desperate for food, fuel, water and sanitation.

Despite differences, political parties in Pakistan have resolutely condemned the destruction in the Gaza Strip. On October 6, a multi-party conference, jointly convened by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, unanimously condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire and accountability for war crimes. The conference, attended by almost all political parties except PTI, expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people.

HOW IT STARTED

On Nov 19, Asif alleged in an interview on Geo News show ‘Capital Talk’ that Imran and the PTI never condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza.

At the 15:35-minute mark of the video, Asif said, “PTI has not issued a single statement in favour of the Palestinian people. Show me even one statement. No, show me just one statement … I am talking about Imran Khan.”

Later on, he further said: “Statements from jail are reaching the entire world. He is operating everything from there. Yet, he cannot condemn the atrocities against the Palestinian people.”

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim, despite a lack in its virality or online spread by PML-N supporters or PTI critics, since the Gaza issue is still a very active development that not only attracts significant public concern and attention but has also generated a strong response from across the Pakistani state and society.

It was also carried out to hold accountable a sitting minister for statements on such a sensitive issue by involving it in routine political rivalry with the opposition.

The official social media accounts of the PTI and Imran were checked to determine if they had addressed the issue, yielding a Nov 20 post by the PTI on its official X account with the following caption: “Khawaja Asif was caught lying once again. Their job is only to sit on their favourite media channels and throw dust in the eyes of the people and shine their politics by chanting ‘Imran Khan, Imran Khan’.

“It’s not their fault, because they’ve been repeatedly and badly rejected by the poor masses … That’s why now they have to make due by telling lies and propaganda.”

The post shared a video featuring multiple X posts from Imran and the PTI’s accounts showcasing previous statements made in favour of Gaza and condemning Israel’s actions.

One of the X posts featured in the video read, “Strongly condemn Israel’s continuing war crimes being committed in Palestine and now in Lebanon. The supply of weapons from Western states, enabling Israel’s commission of the genocide of innocent Palestinians and war crimes against Lebanon is equally condemnable. It is our collective failure that has allowed Israel to blatantly broaden this conflict through the region.”

Writing the caption on Google and adding the words “Imran Khan” and “X” yielded a link to the original post on X on September 29, 2024.

Corroboration for three other X posts also yielded original links to Imran’s posts on August 2, 2024, April 4, 2024 and December 7, 2023, respectively.

Similarly, corroboration for the PTI’s X posts also yielded original links to the party’s posts on August 10, 2024, August 1, 2024, July 8, 2024 and June 2, 2024, respectively.

Further investigation showed that this was not the first time the defence minister had made such allegations against the PTI and its founder.

He had made a similar claim in October 2024, which was fact-checked as being false by a local media outlet.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif regarding Imran Khan and the PTI that they never condemned Israel’s Gaza atrocities is false.

Imran and the PTI have condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza several times in the near and distant past. Despite this, the defence minister continues to repeat his allegations against them.

Evidence and References

November 20, 2024, X post of PTI:
https://perma.cc/5YUJ-FBUA

September 29, 2024, X post of Imran Khan:
https://perma.cc/2EYS-EF4K

August 2, 2024, X post of Imran Khan:
https://perma.cc/NU95-DKNP

April 4, 2024, X post of Imran Khan:
https://perma.cc/KZ68-BQJF

December 7, 2023, X post of Imran Khan:
https://perma.cc/P666-DLQ8

August 10, 2024, X post of PTI:
https://perma.cc/AWT4-ZG23

August 1, 2024, X post of PTI:
https://perma.cc/7NBY-JZ2A

July 8, 2024, X post of PTI:
https://perma.cc/Y3ZX-LHT4

June 2, 2024, X post of PTI:
https://perma.cc/8EQZ-93J7