An image of Maharashtra’s AIMIM leader Waris Pathan with a woman is circulating on social media accompanied by claims that Waris Pathan married the woman beside him, who is alleged to be his sister and stepmother (here & here). This article fact-checks the claims made in the post.
Claim: An image of Waris Pathan with his wife, who is also purported to be his sister and stepmother.
Fact: The woman seen next to Waris Pathan is Rizwana Isa Khan, the women’s president of AIMIM Mumbai. She filed an FIR against the circulation of this photo with derogatory remarks. Waris Pathan is actually married to Ghazala Pathan, a women’s rights activist. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Contrary to the claim, the woman seen next to Waris Pathan in the viral image is not his wife, but another AIMIM leader, Rizwana Isa Khan. A reverse image search of the viral photo led us to a January 2024 Facebook post by Waris Pathan, which included a video of a press conference attended by both him and the woman in the viral photo. The viral photo was taken from this video.
At the beginning of the press conference, Waris Pathan introduced the woman as Rizwana Isa Khan, the women’s president of AIMIM Mumbai. During the conference, the two leaders discussed the topics of Maratha reservation and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Following this lead, a search with relevant keywords led us to a tweet by Rizwana Khan. In the tweet, she shared a video addressing the viral image, explaining that the photo of her with Waris Pathan was being circulated with derogatory remarks. She also mentioned that she had filed a complaint at the Malvani police station.
Additionally, AIMIM leader Waris Pathan shared a copy of the FIR on Twitter, captioning it: “FIR registered by Malvani Police Malad for offences under sections 354 and 509 of the IPC against approximately 15 individuals (Twitter handles) who posted this tweet with the intent to insult the dignity of a woman and make derogatory comments in bad faith. The cyber cell will also take action.”
Waris Pathan is married to Ghazala Pathan, a women’s rights activist. This clarifies that the woman in the viral image is not Waris Pathan’s wife, and there are no reports indicating she is related to him.
To sum up, the woman seen next to Waris Pathan in this image is not his wife, but Rizwana Isa Khan, the women’s president of AIMIM Mumbai.
