By: Annie Priya
January 19 2023
False: An image from the recent economic crisis in Pakistan shows people standing in line waiting for food.
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Fact-Check
The Verdict False
A 2010 image of Pakistan flood victims waiting for food and water in Sukkur has been falsely shared as the recent economic crisis in Pakistan.
Claim ID 1ed14c67
Context
A picture of people standing in a queue with utensils in their hands has gone viral on social media claiming it is from the recent economic crisis in Pakistan. A Twitter user named 'No Demand No Complaint' shared the viral picture and wrote in Hindi (translated to English), "These people standing in line in Pakistan are not engaged for roti atta. Everyone has a nuclear bomb in their hands, if they say anything, they will blow it."
Another user named Sanjay Rana shared the same image with the caption, "This is Pakistan, where atta is Rs 150 / Kg a& onion Rs 220/kg. We both are 75 but see the difference between the two! Will Still abuse #Modi? (sic)"
However, the image was taken in 2010 from a temporary camp after the floods in Pakistan.
In Fact
A reverse image search on the photograph revealed that the image is from August 2010. The Guardian published the photograph on August 24, 2010, with the caption, "People stand in a queue for relief food at a makeshift camp in Sukkur." The image was attributed to Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer Asif Hassan for Getty Images.
On August 24, 2010, CNN published the same image with the caption, "Flood victims wait for food and water at a makeshift camp in Sukkur on August 23, 2010." This image was also used by the Pakistan Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI), in its 2021 report on challenges to food security in the country.
A keyword search for Hassan's work for AFP led us to his word on the stock image website Getty Images, where we found a photograph of the same queue taken from a different angle. The image caption reads, "Pakistani flood-affected survivors wait in line for relief food at a makeshift camp in Sukkur, on August 23, 2010. The near month-long floods have killed 1,500 people and affected up to 20 million nationwide in the country's worst natural disaster. The threat of disease is ever-present in the miserable camps sheltering penniless survivors."
Thus, evidence shows that the photograph has been around since 2010 and is not amid the recent economic crisis in Pakistan.
Pakistan is facing its biggest economic crisis to date. According to an Indian Express report published on January 10, 2023, people are in need of basic goods and food because of inflation in the country. The country's foreign exchange reserves are continuously depleting, which has worsened the import crisis of essential goods. Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has sought help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other countries, including America and Saudi Arabia. The flood, which hit the country in 2022, also contributed to the recent ongoing crisis, which has affected almost one-third of the country and impacted over 15 percent of the population.
The Verdict
The viral picture is of a temporary camp after the 2010 floods in Pakistan. It is not related to 2022-2023 economic crisis in Pakistan. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.