Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting rejected the veracity of a video allegedly depicting its Defence Minister Khawaja Asif comparing Pakistan and India's progress to the former's detriment, according to reports on Monday.
The Ministry stated the voice heard in the video was "AI-generated" and that Asif had not made such statements. The clip was roughly a minute long and depicted Asif addressing a press conference carried by a notable news channel. The video displayed him making these comments within the press conference.
The video footage showed Asif comparing the two different trajectories that India and Pakistan took after gaining independence. The clip further showed Pakistan's Defence Minister saying that Balochistan had "slipped from our (Pakistan's) hands", and that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's people were facing difficulties. He also allegedly spoke about Azad Jammu and Kashmir's residents saying that they were on the streets protesting for their rights.
The allegedly doctored video then had him positively compare India's economy, technology and infrastructure in comparison to Pakistan. “On the other hand, look at India,.." the video showed Asif as saying. It also had him allegedly call into question Pakistan's democratic system.
“This news is FAKE and the voice in the video is AI-generated," Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's 'X' account stated as reported by Dawn.
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It denied that Asif had made such statements.
“Please verify news from official sources before sharing," the ministry added.
The Information Ministry's fact-checking account on 'X' also posted the same statement.
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