Fact-check: Claim that KP govt sacked student's father after viral exchange is false

Following a viral exchange between a female student and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, a notification began circulating online claiming that the provincial government had dismissed the student’s father from his government job.

The claim is false. The notification is fabricated.

Claim

The purported document, dated February 4, was allegedly issued by the office of the chief secretary of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. It claims that Bashir Khan, described as a clerk in the education department, was dismissed from service due to unauthorised absence and failure to respond to departmental queries, with all associated financial and service-related consequences.

An X user shared the alleged notification with the caption: “Why did she ask a question? The father of Fatima, a Pashtun daughter who questioned PTI’s performance during its 13-year rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was suspended from his job by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. Questioning the government’s performance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been treated as a crime.”

The document bears the name and purported signature of Shahab Ali Shah, the chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

At the time of writing, the post had received more than 35,000 views, over 1,000 reposts, and nearly 1,500 likes.

The same notification was also shared by other social media users, which can be viewed here, here and here.

Fact

The student and a senior government official have confirmed that the notification circulating online was never issued by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

Fatima Khan, whose video went viral after she questioned Chief Minister Sohail Afridi about his party’s performance in the province, told Geo Fact Check over the phone that the notification is fake. She said her father’s name is not Bashir Khan and that he was never employed in the education department.

She further clarified that her father, Dr Ikhwan Khan, has already retired from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Livestock Department.

Shahab Ali Shah, the chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, whose name appears on the alleged notification, also told Geo Fact Check that the document was not authentic.

While Naheed Anjum, the director of elementary and secondary education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, whose office was listed as a recipient of the notification, told Geo Fact Check that the notification is fake.

Verdict: The notification claiming that a student’s father was dismissed for questioning Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s government is fabricated and was not issued by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

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