The Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) and the federal government are at odds right now. On Sunday, the group was banned by the government, as were all of its gatherings. The group, on the other hand, has pledged to proceed with a massive event in the Khyber district from October 11 to 13.
Both the PTI and the KP Assembly criticized the police’s actions against PTM activists in the Khyber district and condemned the ban. A member of the ANP in the KP Assembly claims that three people were killed in the altercation on October 9.
In the midst of the situation, Barrister Saif released a video message supporting the position taken by the federal government. In it, he stated that the banned organization could not hold its meeting in Khyber due to the district administration’s Section 144 ban on gatherings.
Multiple posts claiming that CM Gandapur had relieved Saif of his duties appeared on X in the early hours of Thursday, shortly after the video message from the KP government spokesperson.
The caption to a post that the journalist Shakir Mehmood Awan made on X read: How did you feel about the choice? The information adviser, Barrister Saif, was fired by KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur.
Over 63,000 people saw the post, and it was shared 1,900 more times.
Shahzad Younas Sheikh, a member of the PTI and a former spokesperson for the Punjab government, also made the same claim, which received 47,000 views.
The claim was widely shared by PTI supporters and others, as can be seen here, here, here, and here, with over 80,000 views all together.
In addition, numerous other users were sharing an alleged notification of his removal, as can be seen here, here, here, and here from numerous additional users.
The alleged notification cited the following as the reason for his dismissal: The statement was released without the chief minister’s knowledge.
Although the observed social media posts linked it to Barrister Saif’s video message regarding the PTM, it did not specify which statement it was referring to.
Due to the claim’s high virality, the public’s keen interest in the PTM’s gathering, the PTI’s stance on the matter, and the fact that some users disputed the alleged notification and removal, a fact-check was initiated to determine the claim’s veracity.
KP Information and Public Relations Director General Muhammad Imran told Dawn’s senior political correspondent Arif Hayat after contacting the authorities for confirmation: The fake notification that Barrister Saif will no longer serve as CM’s advisor is being shared in WhatsApp groups.
As a result, the fact check determined that the viral notification of the alleged action and the claim that CM Gandapur has removed Barrister Saif as his information adviser are false.
A KP government official has confirmed that there has been no such development and that the alleged notification is fake.
This fact check was first published by iVerify Pakistan, a CEJ and UNDP initiative.
