Claim

Viral interview clip of Aleema Khanum criticising the army chief as a “radical Islamist”

RATING JUSTIFICATION

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

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search to trace the original source and analysed the clip using AI-detection tools to assess the authenticity of the video.

Multiple accounts on social media platform X shared an interview clip on December 3, 2025, that allegedly showed Aleema Khanum, the sister of PTI founder Imran Khan, calling the army chief a “radicalised Islamist”. However, the video is doctored through AI.

Imran’s sister Uzma Khanum was finally allowed to meet him in Adiala Jail, where the PTI founder is currently incarcerated, on Dec 2 for a meeting that lasted around half an hour. She said he was physically fine but under mental duress during his time in prison.

Last week, the sisters had camped outside Adiala jail along with other party members after being denied a meeting. According to the PTI, Aleema, Uzma and Noreen Niazi were “sitting peacefully” outside the jail when they were manhandled and “violently detained” by police.

After repeatedly being barred from meeting their brother, Noreen and Aleema gave separate interviews to the Indian media on the matter. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had slammed the sisters for giving interviews to the Indian media.

HOW IT STARTED

On Dec 3, an account on X shared an interview clip of Aleema with Sky News journalist Yalda Hakim with the following caption: “Way to go! After this, the generals won’t get any sleep all night. Aleema Khan’s single strike has poured water on Asim Munir’s entire American lobby. Cry, general, cry.”

The post gained over 124,000 views.

The transcript of the video is provided below:

Yalda Hakim: “So, Miss Aleema, why do you think that Pakistan went through a war in May? And I was also privy to some of the incidents that happened during the war. I also got a chance to interview the defence minister, but I want to understand why you think that the war happened between Pakistan and India. Your statements created some chaos, as I have heard.”

Aleema Khanum: “Well, Yalda, this Asim Munir is a very radicalised Islamist, Islamic conservative, and this is the reason why he yearns for a war with India, because his Islamic radicalisation and conservatism are forcing him to fight against those who don’t believe in Islam. This is what differentiates him from Imran Khan, who is a pure liberal. So whenever Imran Khan comes to power, you will see that he always tries to befriend India and even the BJP. Whenever there is this radical Islamist, Asim Munir, you will see that there will be war with India, and not just India, even the allies of India will suffer. I keep telling again and again that Imran Khan is an asset, and the West needs to increase its efforts to free Imran Khan.”

Another user, who is a former civil servant, shared the same video on X with the caption: “Now this is insane!! What is Aleema Khanum upto? She is speaking as if she is a BJP leader!”

The post gained 10,300 views.

A pro-PML-N account also shared the same video, with the caption: “The real agenda of the enemy group is starting to come to light! ‘Asim Munir is an Islamist … Imran Khan is an asset of the West…’ Aleema Khan’s conversation with Yalda Hakim, the anti-Pakistan Afghan anchor on Sky News.”

The post received 48,500 views.

The same video with a similar claim was shared by other PML-N accounts on X, as can be seen 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 matters related to the PTI and the army chief.

Analysing the video using forensic tool Hive Moderation flagged it for 98.7 per cent audio alteration, indicating heavy synthetic modification of the soundtrack.

A reverse image search yielded the original source of the clip, with the complete interview uploaded by Sky News on December 3, 2025, on its YouTube channel.

The interview covers details of Uzma’s meeting with Imran in prison and the discussion he had with his sister.

At no point does the original interview contain any remarks about India, the conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025, the army chief or Western involvement.

Furthermore, it was observed that neither the journalist asked the question she did in the viral clip, nor did Aleema refer to the army chief as a “radical Islamist”.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral interview clip shows Aleema Khanum criticising the army chief as a “radical Islamist” is false.

The clip is doctored and has been dubbed over through AI-generated audio.

Evidence and References

Dec 3, 2025, Sky News YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXUe84E1VIc