Claim

Viral image of ex-Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina shaking hands with Imran Khan

Rating Justification

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

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search to trace the original visuals.

Multiple users on social media platform X were sharing an image since November 17, 2025, showing ousted Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina shaking hands with Imran Khan during his tenure as premier. However, the image is doctored.

HOW IT STARTED

On Nov 17, a journalist from state broadcaster PTV News, Najam Wali Khan, shared an image that showed Hasina shaking hands with Imran.

The caption read: “Hussina Wajid’s death sentence in Bangladesh is an indication about the future of this seditionist who was turning the traitor to the homeland, Sheikh Mujib, from a villain into a hero in Pakistan.”

The post received 17,400 views.

Another journalist, Rizwan Razi, also shared the same image on Nov 18, garnering 15,000 views on X.

The caption of his post said: “Modi was clever, didn’t pick up the phone, so he survived. Otherwise, whoever shook hands with him. They were gone.”

On Nov 19, the general secretary of Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan-Imam Noorani posted the same image, which gained more than 194,000 views.

Several other X users, including PML-N supporters, circulated the image as well, as seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the situation in Bangladesh and developments related to Imran.

The image presents several discrepancies such as Sheikh Hasina’s face and clothing having harsh and uneven lighting, along with a different colour tone compared to Imran and the background in the image.

Imran and the background have warmer and softer lighting, while Hasina appears overexposed and cooler-toned.

Her hands also appear misaligned and blurred, indicating the handshake was created using two different photos. Additionally, the wall behind Hasina is also different from the wall design seen behind Imran.

A reverse image search on Hasina’s part of the image yielded a photograph posted on the Getty Images website dated May 28, 2016, in which she can be seen shaking hands with then-Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, titled, “PM Abe meets Asian and African leaders”.

The caption with the image read, “Nagoya, Japan – May 28: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina shake hands prior to their meeting on May 28, 2016 in Nagoya, Japan. Abe holds a bilateral meeting with leaders from Asia and Africa who attended the outreach meeting of the Group of Seven summit. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)”

Conducting a similar reverse image search for Imran’s part of the image yielded a photo posted on the PTI’s website of insaf.pk with the title: “Foreign minister of Iran calls on Prime Minister Imran Khan”.

It showed the PTI founder shaking hands with the then-Iranian foreign minister.

The caption on the image reads: “Mohammad Javad Zarif Khonsari, foreign minister of Iran called on Prime Minister Imran Khan today on his second visit during the past two months. Iranian FM is visiting Pakistan to discuss relations between the two countries and issues of mutual interest, including the recovery of 12 Iranian border security guards.”

The meeting took place on October 31, 2018, as per a post on Imran’s Facebook page.

The investigation further showed that the same edited image was used by various mainstream media outlets in their news reports in June 2020, July 2020 and March 2021.

FACT-CHECK TITLE: FALSE

The claim that a viral image shows former Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina shaking hands with former PM Imran Khan is false.

The image is doctored.

Evidence and References

May 28, 2016, Getty images websites: https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/japanese-prime-minister-shinzo-abe-and-bangladesh-prime-news-photo/535840016

Insaf.pk website: https://insaf.pk/news/foreign-minister-iran-calls-prime-minister-imran-khan

Oct 31, 2018, Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ImranKhanOfficial/posts/he-mohammad-javad-zarif-khonsari-foreign-minister-of-iran-called-on-prime-minist/3028877433821323/