A deepfake video falsely portraying Aleema Khan, sister of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, has sparked confusion and political unrest on social media. In the widely circulated video, Aleema's fabricated comments about India, the Bharatiya Janata Paty (BJP), Asim Munir and the Pakistani military leadership became the centre of controversy.
The digitally altered clip, was originially a part of Aleema's interview with Sky News' Yalda Hakim, wherein she spoke about her brother’s condition in the prison.
Have a look at both the original and the fabricated clips here:
What did Aleema Khan actually say?
Aleema had originally spoken to Sky News about her brother Imran's health, his restricted access to family and how they've spent weeks without any contact. This particular segment was later digitally manipulated, creating a deepfake in which both the questions of the reporter and Aleema's answers were fabricated. The doctored clip falsely showed her responding to a query about “why the war happened between Pakistan and India”, and referred to supposed “statements” she had made that caused “chaos”.
In the fake version, Aleema appeared to describe Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir as a “radicalised Islamist” who “yearns for a war with India”, contrasting him with Imran Khan, whom the clip described as a “pure liberal” who seeks to “befriend India and even BJP”. None of these remarks were ever made.
Sky News later broadcast a comparison between the real interview and the digitally altered one to underline the scale of manipulation involved.
Video sparks political reactions
The deepfake rapidly gained traction across social media platforms, shared tens of thousands of times and even picked up by mainstream outlets. Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif also commented on the video, referencing past flashpoints between India and Pakistan and suggested lessons had been “taught” during earlier confrontations.
Yalda, who conducted the original interview for Sky News, said the episode illustrated how easily fabricated clips can contaminate public discourse. She told the network that such videos are now extremely difficult for audiences to detect, warning that manipulated political content circulating at scale can be “quite dangerous when you have states who could be on the potential brink of war over these sorts of comments”.
Hakim added that another deepfake involving her had surfaced the same morning, reinforcing concerns about escalating misuse of synthetic media.
