Fact check: Viral video of Senate opposition leader saying Pakistan allowed US to use airspace against Iran is doctored
Multiple anti-state, Indian and Afghan accounts on social media platform X have been sharing a video since March 2, claiming that it shows Allama Raja Nasir, opposition leader in the Senate, saying Pakistan allowed the United States to use its airspace against Iran. However, the clip is doctored using artificial intelligence (AI).
Israel and the United States launched joint military strikes on Iran on February 28, and assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, significantly escalating tensions in the Middle East. Iran called the strikes unprovoked and illegal, and responded with missiles fired at Israel and at least seven other countries, including Gulf states that host US bases.
The war entered its fifth day on Wednesday, with no let-up in attacks by the US, Israel or Iran. Meanwhile, Washington has said it was winning in the war against Iran, adding that the US military could fight as long as needed.
On March 2, an anti-state account on X shared a clip of Nasir speaking on a talk show with the caption: “Pakistan is playing double game once again like it played in post-9/11. Its military got 33$ billion aid from the USA and hosted Osama Bin Laden for 10 years.
“Pakistan is now hosting Hamas, Hezbollah, IRGC second rank leadership and also providing air bases of Balochistan (without the consent and will of the Baloch nation) to facilitate attacks on Iran.”
The post gained 116,200 views.
The transcript of what Nasir can be heard saying is provided below:
“I have spoken to the top leadership of the army several times, yet our military allowed America to use our airspace … this is very wrong and shameful. Whatever is happening in Iran, the responsibility for it falls on the Pakistani army.”
The same video was also shared by an Afghan user on X with the caption: “Pakistan is playing a double game again, just like post-9/11. It took $33bn in US aid while Osama bin Laden lived there for years. Now reports accuse it of hosting militant leaders and using Balochistan bases, without Baloch consent, to aid attacks on Iran.”
The post garnered 41,400 views.
Subsequently, other users on X also shared the clip with similar claims, as seen here, here, here, here and here.
A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in Pakistan’s diplomatic standing in the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran.
A keyword search was conducted to corroborate whether any credible mainstream international or national outlets had shared or reported on the video, but yielded no results.
Inspecting the video showed several visual discrepancies, such as the audio in the video not syncing with Nasir’s lip movements. The widely circulated clip is also blurry and low-quality — a telltale sign of manipulated videos.
Analysing the video through AI-detection tools showed that Undetectable AI’s voice detector gave it a score of one per cent real, while Hive Moderation said it had a 99.4pc likelihood of having AI-generated speech.
Separately, a reverse image search yielded a YouTube Shorts video dated July 27, 2024, shared by SAMAA TV. In the clip, Nasir can be seen wearing the same attire and is seated with the same anchorperson as in the viral video.
The discussion also revolves around PTI founder and former premier Imran Khan.
Furthermore, in a post on X, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen Pakistan, the political party headed by Nasir, called the video fake and asked if the Federal Investigation Agency and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi would take action against the accounts spreading it.
Users on X also pointed out that the video was digitally manipulated, as can be seen here and here.
Therefore, the claim that a viral video shows Abbas saying Pakistan allowed the US to use its airspace against Iran is false. The clip is doctored and has been dubbed over through AI-generated audio.
This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.