Imran Khan trends after 2013 video used to spread fake news about his death in custody

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan began to trend on social media after posts and videos falsely claiming that he had been killed in jail began circulating on the internet. One of the videos that sparked the rumours shows the 72-year-old cricketer-turned-politician bloodied and being carried away by guards. The clip, however, is from 2013 when he fell from a forklift while being lifted onto a stage at an election rally in Lahore.

The fake news initially prompted several Pakistani social media users to react in shock. Some mourned his loss, while others accused Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Asim Munir, of orchestrating Khan’s death, aggravating already heightened tensions. A fake press release made to look like one issued by Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs that confirmed Khan's death in judicial custody has also been circulated widely.

The speculations have been called out as fake news by several independent sources. When asked to verify the information, Grok AI, a prominent fact-checking account on X, shared, “The claim that Asim Munir killed Imran Khan in captivity is false. Imran Khan is alive and serving a 14-year prison sentence, as confirmed by sources like Al Jazeera and Wikipedia. No credible reports from May 2025 indicate his death. While tensions exist between Khan and Munir, there is no evidence supporting this allegation. Verify information from trusted sources to avoid misinformation.”

Khan is currently in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail after being convicted in multiple cases, including corruption and unlawful marriage. Concerns over his safety inside the prison have grown, especially after tension between India and Pakistan escalated in recent weeks. Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has alleged that his life is in danger and that he is being kept in near-isolation and denied regular access to legal counsel and medical care.

Last Friday, PTI filed a petition in the High Court in Islamabad seeking Khan's release from jail, claiming a threat to his life due to the impact of the prolonged detention on his health. In a WhatsApp message, the party said that its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur approached the Islamabad High Court for the release of the party founder.