Govt has not proposed moving federal capital to Lahore; suggestion came from ex-FBR chief Shabbar Zaidi

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

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a keyword search to corroborate whether any such development had been reported or not.

Posts from multiple users on social media platforms since October 20, 2025, claimed that the government had proposed moving the federal capital from Islamabad to Lahore. However, the government has made no such proposal and it originated from a suggestion by former Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Shabbar Zaidi.

HOW IT STARTED

The iVerify Pakistan team was alerted on Oct 23 about an Instagram post and requested authentication for the content.

On Oct 22, lifestyle publication Hello Pakistan shared a now-deleted post with a collage of locations from Lahore and Islamabad with the following caption: “Government proposes shifting Pakistan’s capital from Islamabad to Lahore.”

Even though the post was later deleted, searching for it still showed it on Google Cache with the following text: “Government of Pakistan has proposed relocating the nation’s capital from Islamabad to Lahore, citing administrative efficiency and strategic.”

The same claim was shared by journalist Isma Shaukat and multiple users on X, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here and here; on Instagram and on Facebook.

Meanwhile, some users were seen sharing a graphic of Hum News with the following text: “Advice to move the federal capital from Islamabad to Lahore.”

An Oct 20 X post by journalist Muqadas Farooq Awan asked: “How will it be if this happens?” and gained over 76,000 views.

A reshare of her post by an anti-state and pro-Afghan user gained over 59,000 views.

Multiple other users also shared the same visual on X, as can be seen here, here and here; on Instagram here, here, here and here and on Facebook here, here, here and here.

Notably, none of the posts sharing the Hum News visual, nor the alleged visual itself, identified who had made the advice and who it was coming from.

METHODOLOGY

A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the possible relocation of the federal capital.

A keyword search to corroborate the alleged development did not yield any news reports from credible mainstream national and domestic media outlets on any such advice or suggestion being made. No reports based on sources were found as well.

A reverse image search was conducted to check whether Hum News had shared any such visual, which yielded an Oct 19 post on the outlet’s official Facebook page with the same image and caption.

The post included a link to an Oct 19 news report on the outlet’s official website with the following title: “Shabbar Zaidi proposes shifting the capital from Islamabad to Lahore”.

As per the report, the former FBR chairman suggested moving the capital in a speech during the launch of his autobiography in Lahore.

The same was covered in an article on Oct 20 by digital platform ProPakistani titled “Former FBR chairman wants to shift capital from Islamabad”.

The social media shares made for the Hum News article omitted the attribution to Zaidi, thus creating confusion among audiences and lending the impression that the suggestion was made in official and government circles.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that the government has proposed shifting the capital from Islamabad to Lahore is false.

No available news report suggests such a development or advice being considered in government circles and the origin of the rumour can be traced to the personal suggestion of former FBR chairman Shabbar Zaidi. The sharing of one media outlet’s news report on the matter on social media platforms while omitting the attribution to Zaidi led to further confusion.