Fact-check: Video shows a PTI gathering in Sindh, not protest against Makkah Defence Alliance
PTI Sindh president Haleem Adil Sheikh confirmed that the video was recorded in Umerkot on the night of September 5, 2026
Updated Thursday Oct 15 2026
A social media post claims that a protest was held in Pakistan against the country joining the Makkah Alliance for Defence, a defence pact involving Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye that was signed in August.
The claim is false.
Claim
On October 8, an account on X shared a 12-second video captioned: “Mass protests in Pakistan, with crowds opposing the so-called Mecca agreement.”
The footage shows a large crowd gathered on a street, waving flags of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
At the time of writing, the post had garnered 32,500 views, 2,300 likes and 774 reposts.
Fact
The video shows a PTI gathering in Umerkot, Sindh, in early September, when Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Chief Minister Sohail Afridi visited the province ahead of the party’s planned long march. It does not depict a demonstration against the Makkah Alliance for Defence, as claimed in the viral post.
Geo Fact Check traced the footage to a video published on PTI’s official YouTube channel, which identifies the location as Umerkot.
PTI Sindh president Haleem Adil Sheikh confirmed to Geo Fact Check over the phone that the video was recorded in Umerkot on the night of September 5, 2026. He said the gathering was part of the party’s four-day mobilisation campaign in Sindh and had no connection to the defence pact.
Sheikh also refuted the claim in a post on X on October 14.
A police official in Umerkot, who spoke to Geo Fact-Check on condition of anonymity, also confirmed that the gathering was a PTI political event.
Separately, Geo News correspondent Mehboob Alam, who was at the scene filming the gathering, confirmed the same.
Verdict: The video shows a PTI gathering in Umerkot, Sindh, during Sohail Afridi’s visit to the province. It does not show a protest against the Makkah Alliance for Defence.
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