The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday said that a video of Defence Minister Khawaja Asif comparing Pakistan’s progress with India’s was “fake”, adding that the PML-N leader had not made any such statement.

The ministry shared the purported clip of the minister on its X account. The nearly minute-long video appeared to show a clip from a press conference by the minister on a major news channel.

In the purported video, the minister called on citizens to review the country’s situation. He went on to say that Pakistan and India had gained independence at the same time, yet the difference in progress between the two was evident.

The purported clip showed Asif saying that Balochistan had “slipped from our hands”, the people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were facing difficulties and residents of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) had taken to the streets for their rights.

On the other hand, look at India, Asif said in the alleged video, pointing to the country’s progress in technology, infrastructure and the economy.

“We have to ask ourselves whether we are a true democracy. Instead of blaming others, we should question our government and policies,” Asif said in the purported clip.

The clip, which was circulating on social media, was also picked up by Indian media, with News18 publishing an article on the alleged statement by Asif.

Sharing the clip on X, the information ministry said on Monday: “This news is FAKE and the voice in the video is AI-generated.

“Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has not given any such statement. Please verify news from official sources before sharing,” it said.

The same statement was also shared by the information ministry’s fact-checking account on X.