Fact Check: No recent travel advisory issued by Afghan Taliban about Pakistan

The Claim: The Afghan interim government has issued an advisory, asking its citizens not to travel to Pakistan due to the ongoing political instability in the region.

The Fact: The story: There is no recent advisory issued by the Afghan interim government to that effect recently.

Jang Urdu, The News and 24 News Digital reported on Sunday that the Afghan interim government has issued an advisory, urging the Afghan citizens not to travel to Pakistan due to the prevailing political instability in the region.

“The Taliban government advised Afghan citizens not to travel to Pakistan due to ongoing political instability in neighbouring countries. According to the details, an advisory has been issued by the Afghan Foreign Office. Afghan citizens have been asked to exercise caution in travelling to Pakistan due to ongoing political instability, protests and violent incidents,” read a news report in The News.

Examples of the news reports can be found here, here and here.

However, the advisory mentioned in the news was issued on May 10, following the political developments that unfolded in the country after the May 9 protest.

When Hum News reached out to Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, an expert on Pak-Afghan affairs for his opinion, he also confirmed that the news reports are misleading. “The Afghan interim government issued an advisory on May 10 to Afghan citizens in Pakistan to stay cautious in the wake of 9 May protest. But surprisingly, Pakistan’s leading media group today rehashed the news claiming it to be a new one. There is no issuance of any such fresh advisory by the Afghan government. News outlets need to be extra careful while reporting on sensitive issues. Lack of experts on certain issues often result in such fake news,” he said.

The Spread:

The news report by The News was widely shared on ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter, the examples of which can be found here, here, here, here, here and here.

Verdict: Since there is no official tweet or statement from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding any such advisory for Afghan citizens, travelling to Pakistan. The most recent advisory from the Afghan interim government available is dated May 10, it can be safely said that the news reports are misleading.