On February 14, 2024, several claims circulated on social media platform X stating that former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance minister Taimur Jhagra had been hospitalised due to serious injuries after an attack. However, Jhagra himself confirmed he is fine.
PTI’s Taimur Jhagra hospitalised after attack
The iVerify Pakistan team has checked this content and has established that it is false.
To arrive at this verdict, the iVerify Pakistan team has checked that PTI leader and former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance minister Taimur Jhagra himself denied the claims.
On February 14, 2024, journalist Salman Durrani posted a cryptic message on social media platform X saying: “May God keep Taimur Jhagra safe.”
The post gained over 158,000 views and 1,100 reshares.
An X user, who appears to be a PTI supporter based on their posts, made a post with the caption: “Ex-finance minister Taimur Khan was shifted to the hospital with injuries due to firing, may God bless him.”
The post was viewed by 10,000 users.
Similarly, another X user, describing herself as a human rights activist, posted regarding Jhagra’s status, asking: “Can anyone confirm the murderous attack on Taimur Jhagra?”
The post gained over 29,000 views.
Notably, none of the posts mentioned any other details such as the nature of the alleged injuries, where the alleged incident occurred or where Jhagra was admitted for treatment.
The iVerify Pakistan team sought to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and because it concerned whether or not a politician was attacked in a charged post-electoral environment amid known security issues.
The team also noted that several social media users denounced the development as being false.
To verify the matter, the team checked Jhagra’s official X account for any statement or post on the matter and found one at 10:51pm on Feb 14.
“I am fine and at home, by the grace of God. Kindly don’t spread rumours,” he said.
PTI lawyer Abuzar Salman Niazi also posted two minutes later that Jhagra was safe and reports about the attack were “fake”.
Jhagra served as the provincial minister of KP for finance and health from August 29, 2018, to January 18, 2023.
In the 2024 polls, Jhagra contested from Peshawar’s PK-79 constituency, where PML-N candidate Jalal Khan clinched victory against the PTI-backed candidate with 16,031 and 11,495 votes, respectively.
Jhagra alleged rigging was done and challenged the result in the Peshawar High Court.
The iVerify Pakistan team has determined that the claim regarding Jhagra being shifted to a hospital after an attack is false.
Jhagra himself confirmed his well-being and requested his supporters to refrain from spreading rumours.
Taimur Jhagra’s X post on February 14, 2024:
https://twitter.com/Jhagra/status/1757824960368689293?s=20
