Web Desk (MNN): RT India has removed a post from social media platform X that claimed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was “waiting to meet” Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying the post may have misrepresented the actual events.
The clarification surfaced on Saturday while Prime Minister Shehbaz was in Ashgabat to attend an international forum. On the sidelines of the event on Friday, the prime minister met several world leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and President Vladimir Putin.
Information Minister Ataullah Tarar shared a video on X showing PM Shehbaz shaking hands with President Putin in what appeared to be a hallway, describing the interactions as positive and highlighting Pakistan’s active presence on the global stage. He also referred to the meetings with Putin, Erdogan and Pezeshkian as warm and cordial.
Prime Minister’s Spokesperson for Foreign Media Mosharraf Zaidi also shared the same footage, saying the prime minister held productive meetings with his counterparts attending the forum. He added that the cordial nature of Pakistan’s relations was evident during the prime minister’s engagements with key world leaders, including Erdogan and Putin.
The video was also posted by the Russian embassy in Pakistan. However, RT India shared a different clip, which was later taken down. In a late-night clarification, RT India said it had deleted the post, acknowledging that it may have presented a misleading account of events at the Peace and Trust forum in Turkmenistan.
RT India is the latest branch of Russia’s state-funded international media network, officially launched last week during President Putin’s visit to New Delhi.
According to Indian media reports, the deleted post had claimed that PM Shehbaz waited for around 40 minutes before entering President Putin’s meeting with President Erdogan and leaving shortly afterwards.
Meanwhile, Russia’s RIA news agency reported that PM Shehbaz later joined the Erdogan-Putin meeting, which continued for about 40 minutes behind closed doors.
Commenting on the issue, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar told Dawn that there was no need to respond to an Indian outlet that had posted a false story and later deleted it, admitting it was a misrepresentation of facts.
