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Friday April 26, 2024

Fact check: Is this a photo of Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu in Pakistan?

On the Pakistani prime minister’s official Facebook page there is a photograph of Khan meeting a former chief of the country’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence.

By AFP
November 01, 2018

A photo that appears to show Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan has gone viral following rumours a plane from Israel had landed in Islamabad on October 25. A reverse image search found the photograph has been doctored. The original picture shows Khan meeting a Pakistani official. Netanyahu’s head has been superimposed on top.

The viral Facebook post is captioned: “If Israeli plane did not come to Pakistan, then how this Israeli … came at Pakistani soil. A question does arise".

It contains a photo which appears to show Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at his office in Islamabad.

The photo was created by editing an earlier official photo of Khan in his office.

On the Pakistani prime minister’s official Facebook page there is a photograph of Khan meeting a former chief of the country’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence.

Khan is seen presenting Lieutenant General (retired) Naveed Mukhtar with a shield during a farewell meeting at the prime minister’s office in Islamabad.

The Prime Minister office’s official website also posted a press release on October 22, 2018 about the farewell meeting between Khan and Mukhtar.

In the viral image, the former intelligence chief's head has been replaced with an image of Netanyahu’s face.

The image went viral after Israeli newspaper Haaretz’s Avi Scharf tweeted on October 25 that an Israeli jet had flown from Tel Aviv to Islamabad International Airport. 

The Pakistani government denied the claim saying: “Civil Aviation Authority has categorically rejected any news regarding landing of Israeli Plane in Pakistan.”

Pakistan and Israel do not have diplomatic relations and Pakistan's President Arif Alvi said recently there were no plans to establish ties.