Sujawal AC’s stated reason for not standing up for national anthem in old video was health, not lack of respect

The iVerify Pakistan team reviewed this content and determined that it is misleading.

To reach this conclusion, the iVerify Pakistan team examined a video response of the Sujawal assistant commissioner (AC) regarding the video of him remaining seated during the national anthem.

Multiple pro-PTI accounts were sharing a video on social media platform X since September 17, 2024, claiming that it showed the Sujawal AC not standing up in respect of the national anthem and thus downplaying a similar incident with an Afghan official. However, the Sujawal AC had stated that the reason for his not standing was due to health issues.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government held a conference in honour of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) on Septmeber 17 on the occasion of Eid-i-Miladun Nabi. The event was attended by a large number of elected public representatives, government officials, political and social figures and scholars of all schools of thought.

Afghan officials, including Afghan Consulate Acting Consul General Hafiz Mohibullah Shakir, were also in attendance. According to footage broadcast by media outlets, the Afghan officials remained seated during the national anthem.

The Foreign Office condemned the “reprehensible disrespect” for the country’s national anthem even as the Afghan consulate downplayed the incident, attributing the envoy’s decision to remain seated to the presence of “music in the anthem”. KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur had also acknowledged the envoy’s explanation.

HOW IT STARTED

A pro-PTI account shared a video on X on September 17 in which an official could be seen sitting during the national anthem while others beside him remained standing.

The post’s caption said “Be sure to check this out before creating a fuss. Pakistan’s deputy commissioner for Sindh’s Sujawal did not stand in honour of the national anthem.”

The post garnered more than 45,000 views and was shared 1,500 times. While not directly making the connection or addressing the issue, the post was clearly tackling the issue of the Afghan official and the criticism being aimed at the PTI government in KP over the matter.

Another post by a PTI supporter on X made the connection explicit, saying, “The Afghan consul general did not stand in respect of the national anthem, it was very wrong. But here in our own Pakistan, the deputy commissioner for Sindh Sajawal did not stand in respect for the national anthem.”

This post gained over 489,000 views and was shared 8,000 times.

The same video with captions of a similar nature was widely shared by other users as can be seen here, here, here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and to tackle the insinuation that this had happened before.

A keyword search for the alleged incident yielded a news report dated April 1, 2024, by digital news portal Dialogue Pakistan titled: “Sujawal AC issues clarification after failure to stand for anthem”.

As per the report, it was not a deputy commissioner but Assistant Commissioner Syed Wajahat Ali who was the subject of the video.

The outlet also shared his clarification in a video message in which he said regarding the incident, “I could not stand up due to my health not being well.”

He said his intentions were not to disrespect the country and that he was a proud patriot.

Fact-checking platform Factcheckly had also previously debunked the video with similar claims when it originally went viral in March 2024.

FACT CHECK STATUS: MISLEADING

The claim regarding a similar video as the Afghan consul general of Sujawal Assistant Commissioner Syed Wajahat Ali not standing for the national anthem due to a lack of respect is misleading.

The official clarified that the circumstances of his incident were due to his health. The omission of this explanation while attributing his action to a lack of respect has the potential to misguide the public and cause it to conflate the two incidents with very different contexts and circumstances that should not be propped up against each other.