X post of PTI’s Ali Muhammad Khan criticising army chief over Tirah valley incident

Rating Justification

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

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan analysed the viral X post critically for differences between it and what an actual post on the social media platform looks like.

Posts from PTI supporters on social media platform X on September 22, 2025, shared a screenshot of an alleged X post from PTI MNA Ali Muhammad Khan criticising Field Marshal Asim Munir over the civilian deaths in a Tirah valley incident. However, the post is fake.

The deaths of around two dozen people in the restive Tirah valley ignited a public outcry, with locals and lawmakers demanding justice over the killings of innocent people. It was not clear what caused the explosions that led to the casualties, as witnesses and law enforcement officials offered differing accounts.

Around two dozen people, including women and children, were reported killed in a series of blasts in and around a cluster of houses in the Akkakhel area, in the early hours of Sept 22. Police officials in the region said that around a dozen militants were also among the dead.

HOW IT STARTED

On Sept 22, 2025, a user on X, who appears to be a PTI supporter based on his past posts and bio description, shared an alleged X post of the PTI lawmaker criticising the army chief over the incident.

The caption of the post said, “At last, Ali Muhammad Khan tore the shroud.”

Meanwhile, the caption of the alleged X post said: “I curse any army or field marshal who, for money, spills the blood of their own people. General Asim Munir is to blame for the civilians killed in Tirah.”

The post gained over 145,000 views, 1,600 reshares and 6,400 reactions.

The same post was shared by multiple other PTI supporters on X as can be seen here, here and here, with some questioning whether it was real or not, as can be seen here. The posts collectively gained over 67,000 views on X.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality, keen public interest in the Tirah valley incident and to resolve the uncertainty among some users about the X post.

Checking the official X account of the PTI MNA showed that no such post was present on his timeline.

Instead, on the Tirah Valley incident, he shared a post on Sept 23 condemning the deaths and calling for a probe.

Comparing the screenshot of the viral post with another post on his timeline revealed several discrepancies.

In the screenshot, the number of views does not appear next to the date as it does on a genuine X post.

Furthermore, the screenshot used outdated terminology such as “retweets” and “quote tweets” when X was still Twitter, whereas the platform has ceased using the terms now. This can be seen in the comparison, where the alleged screenshot shows the figures for retweets, quote tweets and likes along with the name of the value being shown.

In contrast, a real X post follows a different order and does not spell out the value being shown but displays the symbols. The order it follows is: replies, reposts, likes, bookmarks and share.

However, comparing the screenshot with an actual X post in Forensically and FotoForensics, tools to detect possible manipulation and tampering in images, showed no considerable differences.

A subsequent keyword search to check for whether X posts could be forged or doctored through online tools instead of traditional manipulation and editing yielded the following website: Tweetgen, which itself says its can be used to “can make and share believable fake tweets”.

Using the website to forge an X post yielded a replica of the viral screenshot, with the same mislabelling present.

Lastly, a keyword search to check whether the PTI MNA himself or anyone from his party or its political rivals or any credible news outlet had reported the alleged X post yielded no results — an unlikely outcome if he had actually made such a post against the army chief, since he is a major politician of the main current opposition party.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim about an alleged X post of PTI MNA Ali Muhammad Khan showing him criticising the army chief over the Tirah valley incident is false.

The post is doctored.

Evidence and References