Pakistan’s former leader Imran Khan voted behind bars on February 8 according to his spokesman, but a picture repeatedly shared online showing him casting a ballot was actually taken in 2018. Posts that misleadingly claim the picture is recent surfaced as the South Asian country held a national election that delivered a surprise boon for independent candidates loyal to Khan.
The photo, showing Khan placing a ballot in a box, was shared with the misleading claim on social media platform X on February 7.
The post’s caption reads: “IMRAN KHAN HAS CASTED (sic) HIS VOTE IN ADIALA JAIL.”
The post was shared a day before Pakistan’s split-verdict national election on February 8 that was marred by allegations of manipulation.
Analysts had predicted the vote would see Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party largely wiped away after suffering a crackdown since being ousted in 2022.
The former premier was also sentenced to lengthy jail terms for treason, graft, and an illegal marriage.
But PTI-backed candidates took around 90 of the 266 elected assembly seats — a hefty opposition bloc set to continue bedevilling any incoming administration.
The army-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said it would partner with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and some smaller parties to form the next government.
The photo of Khan voting was also shared alongside a similar misleading claim here, here and here on X, and here and here on Facebook.
Old picture
Khan was allowed a postal ballot from Adiala Jail, a PTI official told AFP on February 8.
However, a reverse image search on Google found the photo in the posts was earlier posted on Khan’s verified Facebook account on October 14, 2018 (archived link).
Its caption reads: “Prime Minister Imran Khan cast his vote in NA-53 constituency earlier today.”
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in one of the misleading posts (left) and the photo on Khan’s Facebook page (right):
At the time, Khan was casting his vote in the capital Islamabad during by-elections in 35 constituencies, according to a report by Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper which also published the same picture on October 14, 2018 (archived link).
AFP has repeatedly debunked misinformation swirling around Pakistan’s national election here, here and here.
