Pakistan transgender activist's picture shared as kidnapped Afghanistan Ambassador’s daughter - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 20, 2021
An image is being shared on social media claiming it as the picture of the Afghanistan Ambassador’s daughter, who was kidnapped and tortured by militants in Pakistan. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Afghanistan Ambassador’s daughter who was kidnapped and tortured in Pakistan.
Fact: While it is true that Afghanistan Ambassador Najib Alikhil’s daughter was kidnapped and tortured by unknown assailants in Islamabad (Pakistan), the photo shared in the post is not of Silsila Alikhil, Najib Alikhil’s daughter. The photo shows Pakistan transgender activist Gul Chahat. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, similar visuals of the woman were found in the videos uploaded by few users on YouTube. They can be seen here and here. These users mentioned the woman as a popular TikTok star, Gul Chahat. When we searched for more details of the woman using these keywords, we found similar photos posted on the Facebook page of Gul Chahat. On 16 July 2021, Gul Chahat posted a video explaining the cause of injuries on her face. In the video, Gul Chahat said that she was facing life threats and pleaded support from her friends and fans.
In September 2020, the Pakistan-based ‘The News’ website had published an article on Gul Chahat. This article mentioned Gul Chahat as a Pakistan-based transgender activist. In the article, Gul Chahat said that she was intimidated psychologically and was facing life threats. According to the article, several transgenders were facing life threats in several parts of Pakistan. The other images and videos of Gul Chahat can be seen here and here.
Silsila Alikhil, daughter of Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan was kidnapped and severely tortured by unknown assailants in Islamabad, Pakistan. This incident took place on 16 July 2021. Najibullah Alikhil, the Afghanistan Ambassador to Pakistan had condemned this inhuman act on his daughter. Following this incident, the Afghanistan Government called back the Afghanistan Ambassador and all Senior Diplomats in Pakistan to Kabul.
Najibullah Alikhil tweeted a photo of his daughter and clarified that an unrelated woman’s picture was shared as his daughter on social media. News articles and videos that reported this incident can be seen here and here.
په ډیری بښنی سره:
مجبور شوم چی د خپل لورکی سلسله علی خیل عکس دلته خپور کړم، چون په ټولنیزو شبکو کی د کوم بل چا عکس په غلطه نشر شوی، په داسی حال کی چی زه یی اصلأ نه پیژنم. مننه pic.twitter.com/Jjx2vQciKp
To sum it up, a Pakistan transgender activist’s photo is shared as the picture of the kidnapped Afghanistan Ambassador’s daughter.