Fact check: Viral video does not show PTI founder Imran from his 2nd visit to Pims
Multiple PTI supporters across social media platforms were sharing a dim clip of party founder Imran Khan since February 24, 2026, claiming that it was from his latest visit to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) for a second eye injection. However, the video is old from February 20, 2023, when he appeared before the Lahore High Court (LHC) for interim protective bail in a case. The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.
Imran was brought to Pims for a follow-up eye treatment on Feb 24. According to a doctor, he was brought to the hospital for a second dose of anti-VEGF intravitreal injection.
Imran’s eye ailment — right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) — came to light in late January 2026. His first medical procedure, which was carried out on January 24, was confirmed by the government five days later.
Since then, the government and the opposition have also been engaged in a blame game, with the latter accusing the former of a lack of transparency on the matter, of not ensuring appropriate treatment for Imran, and of not allowing his personal physicians access to him. The government denies these allegations.
On Feb 24, a user, who appears to be a PTI supporter based on his profile picture and past posts on X, shared a dim video of Imran with the following caption: “Imran Khan’s video of his arrival at Pims hospital has gone viral”.
The post gained 180,000 views.
An Indian propaganda account also shared the same video with a similar claim on X with the following caption: “Pakistani hospital: A video of Imran Khan has gone viral.”
The post accumulated 190,000 views.
The same video was also shared by another PTI supporter on X with a similar caption, garnering more than 60,000 views.
Another user shared a screenshot from the same video with a similar claim, gaining more than 105,000 views.
Another PTI supporter shared the same video and a screenshot of the video with a similar caption. Subsequently, he reshared his own video and screenshot again, gaining a total of 63,000 views.
The same video with a similar claim was shared by multiple other PTI supporters on Instagram; TikTok, as can be seen here, here, and here; Facebook, as seen here, here, here, here, here, here and here; and X, as seen here, here, here, here, here, here and here. They collectively gained over 270,000 views.
A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the health of the former prime minister and PTI founder.
A reverse image search was conducted on a keyframe to trace the source of the clip, which yielded a YouTube video shared by Indian media outlet The Tribune on February 20, 2023.
The video was titled: “Former Pak PM Imran Khan appears before court amid high drama, gets protective bail in one case”.
The video shows the moment when Imran reached the LHC to seek protective bail in a case pertaining to an ‘attack’ on the Election Commission of Pakistan building.
As can be seen in the original video referenced above, the visuals in the viral clip are identical.
Imran and the individuals standing behind him are wearing the same clothes, and a person in the background can be seen wearing the same distinctive cap, confirming that the footage is from the earlier video and not from a recent visit.
The same appearance with similar visuals was covered by multiple domestic mainstream media outlets such as Dawn, The Nation, Dunya News, Express Tribune and The News International.
Therefore, the fact check determined that the claim that a viral video shows PTI founder Imran from his most recent visit to Pims for a second eye injection is false. The clip is old and shows Imran appearing before the LHC for interim protective bail on February 2023.
This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.
