After a court rejected a request to suspend the prison sentences of the former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bunch of Bibiwhose marriage was declared illegal under Islamic law, a video recirculated in online posts falsely claiming to show her ex-husband Khawar Maneka celebrating the decision. The clip had been shared online since March 2021 in posts about Maneka taking part in celebratory gunfire at his son’s wedding.
“That’s it. Khawar Maneka celebrates victory after Imran Khan and Pinky Peerni (Bibi) are declared adulterers,” read an Urdu-language X post on June 27, which shared the video of Maneka firing a gun in the air.
Former international cricketer Khan and Bibi, better known as Pinky Peerni for her work as a faith healer, were sentenced to seven years in prison in February on charges they married prematurely under Islamic law following her divorce from Maneka.
Maneka accuses Bibi of not adhering to the ‘iddat’, a rule that states that a divorced woman must wait three months before she can remarry.
Khan has been embroiled in more than 200 legal cases since he was removed from office in April 2022, in what he called a campaign to keep him from power.
The video re-circulated in a wave of Facebook and X posts after an Islamabad judge on June 27 postponed a request to suspend Khan and Bibi’s sentences. A separate court is scheduled to rule on an appeal against their convictions on July 12.
Many social media users appeared to believe the incorrect claim that the footage showed Maneka partying after the June 27 court hearing.
“Khawar Maneka has been hit. His happy home has been destroyed,” commented one X user.
“Pakistani police should investigate whether he has a license for this weapon,” wrote another.
Wedding party
A reverse image search turned up the video, which was posted online in March 2021, years before Khan and Bibi were jailed.
Daily Pakistan newspaper reported on March 14, 2021, that the footage showed Maneka taking part in “crazy festivities” at his son’s wedding (archived link).
The Pakistani news site Naya Daur Media posted a clip the same day, which the site said shows him “shooting into the air” (archived link).
Below is a screenshot of the video shared on social media (left) and posted by Naya Daur Media (right):
Maneka faced criticism for her action after the video circulated online, Daily Pakistan reported.
Khan, who remains wildly popular in Pakistan, is a frequent target for disinformation spreaders.
