Imran Khan's key ally and leader of Awami Muslim League Sheikh Rashid arrested in Pak
Islamabad (PTI): Pakistani authorities on Sunday arrested Sheikh Rashid, a key ally of former premier Imran Khan and leader of Awami Muslim League, for his alleged involvement in corruption, said his nephew.
Rashid, 72, and two of his aides were arrested from his residence in Bahria Town of Rawalpindi and shifted to an undisclosed location, his nephew Sheikh Rashid Shafiq said in a video message.
"I request the top judiciary to take notice of the arrest of a senior politician as he was not wanted in any case," Sheikh Shafiq said, adding that his elder brother and a servant was also arrested by police.
The details of the charges against Rashid have not been released so far.
Rashid, who is the head of AML party, remained a staunch ally of former prime minister Khan and was appointed as interior minister during his government.
In a tweet on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf condemned Rashid's arrest.
"The political victimisation and fascism continues, this time with the arrest of Sheikh Rashid," it said.
Rashid's arrest seems to be part of the crackdown unleashed after the May 9 violence by the PTI workers who torched several state buildings, including the official residence of Corps Commander Lahore.
Earlier this year in June, the AML leader had alleged that the Islamabad police broke into his house and beat up his servants.
He had also claimed that in a second incident, a "force clad in plain clothes" tortured his employees at his Lal Haveli residence in Rawalpindi.
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Fact check: Viral ‘Santa drone show’ near Burj Khalifa was fake; Elon Musk also shared video
Dubai: A viral video claiming to show a giant Santa Claus created by thousands of drones near the Burj Khalifa during Christmas celebrations has been debunked as fake. The clarification was reported by Khaleej Times, which confirmed that the clip was created using visual effects and did not depict a real event in Dubai.
The short video, which amassed more than 36 million views across social media platforms, showed what appeared to be a massive Santa figure waving beside the Burj Khalifa. The clip was widely shared with captions suggesting it reflected Dubai’s inclusive and multicultural celebrations. Even Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X, shared the video with a heart emoji, further amplifying its reach and lending it unintended credibility.
According to Khaleej Times, the video was originally created in 2023 by UAE-based VFX artist Fawez Zayati. Zayati later clarified on Instagram that the footage was entirely fabricated using visual effects. “I created this video two years ago; it’s fake,” he said, adding humorously that he could create a similar VFX clip featuring Musk if asked.
The video was designed to appear authentic, seemingly filmed from the Souk Al Bahar area near Dubai Mall, with pedestrians visible in the frame. This realism contributed to widespread confusion, despite the creator having initially disclosed that it was a VFX project. Due to backlash and concerns about misinformation, Zayati eventually removed the video and urged users to verify content before sharing it.
Khaleej Times noted that the episode highlights the growing challenge of misinformation in the digital age, particularly as advances in visual effects and artificial intelligence make it easier to create highly realistic but misleading content. The report also pointed to concerns raised by experts following decisions by major tech platforms, including Meta and X, to scale back professional fact-checking teams and rely more heavily on user-driven systems such as Community Notes.
