Multiple social media posts are sharing a video clip purportedly showing Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), apologising in the National Assembly for his recent speeches. The video features authentic footage of Fazl addressing the National Assembly, but its audio has been manipulated using artificial intelligence (AI).
On October 28, a user shared a 26-second video of Fazl speaking in the National Assembly on X (formerly Twitter). "See how Fazlu [Maulana Fazlur Rehman] kept grovelling in the assembly today for forgiveness, but no one will share this part of the speech," the user wrote.
In the video, Fazl can be heard saying in Urdu: "What is my fault? Why are they targeting me?
I have even apologised, but they are not accepting my apology. Are my sins greater than those of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)?
Did I commit the May 9 violence? Why am I being treated unfairly?" At the time of writing, the post had garnered 28,700 views, 269 likes, and 112 reposts.
Similar claims have also circulated on X, Facebook, and Instagram. However, investigations confirm that Fazl did not seek forgiveness during his National Assembly speech on October 28.
The viral clip uses authentic footage from his address, but the audio has been manipulated using AI. Through a reverse image search, Geo Fact Check traced the footage to the National Assembly's official recording.
Geo Fact Check reviewed Fazl's complete speech and found no instance of him making the remarks heard in the viral clip. The footage used in the viral video corresponds to the 3:36 timestamp in the original recording.
This was established by comparing the movements of the men standing behind Fazl in both videos. However, at that point in the original recording, Fazl was speaking about talks between the government and the opposition, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), a day before an emergency was imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Aslam Ghauri, the spokesperson of JUI-F, also told Geo Fact Check via messages that the video doing the rounds online was fake. Additionally, Geo Fact Check analysed the viral clip's audio using Hiya, a deepfake voice detection tool.
The tool assigned the audio an authenticity score of 9 out of 100, indicating that it was highly likely to be AI-generated. This confirms the malicious intent behind the manipulation of the political leader's speech.
Verdict: The viral video features footage from Maulana Fazlur Rehman's October 28 National Assembly speech, but its audio has been manipulated using AI. Rehman did not seek forgiveness during the session.