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Multiple users shared an image on social media platform X on Wednesday, claiming that an Islamabad doughnut shop was \u201csealed\u201d after its employee allegedly disrespected the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.<\/p>\n
However, the picture being circulated dates back to September 11 when it was sealed for violating standard operating procedures (SOPs) related to the spread of dengue.<\/p>\n
A video involving CJP Isa also began making rounds on social media on Wednesday.<\/p>\n The video shows Chief Justice Isa standing at what appears to be a shop with two women. One of the women is seen speaking to a man, seemingly the shop\u2019s employee whose face cannot be seen, regarding an order. According to the audio in the video, the employee apparently makes disrespectful remarks about the top judge after identifying him.<\/p>\n The video going viral on social media platforms showed a watermark reading \u201cEHTASHAMABBASI\u201d.<\/p>\n Ehtesham Ali Abbasi, describing himself as a crime reporter at Bol TV<\/em> in his X bio, shared the video<\/a> on Wednesday, racking up over 757,000 views. The alleged video was reshared 7,400 times, including by users whose past posts and profiles suggested they supported the PTI.<\/p>\n Crusteez, the shop in question, is a doughnut chain in Islamabad with multiple branches.<\/p>\n Amid the circulation of the viral video, an accompanying image showed officials at the entrance of a store, posting a notice indicating it had been sealed.<\/p>\n However, neither the posts sharing the video nor the image offered any information about the outlet where the alleged incident took place or the store that was allegedly sealed.<\/p>\n The image was shared by a user who appeared to be a PTI supporter<\/a>, by digital media platform Siasat.pk<\/em>\u2019s founder Adeel Habib<\/a>, by PTI leader Shahbaz Gill<\/a> and by Syed Jlaluddin Jlal<\/a>, who describes himself as a broadcast journalist associated with Bol News<\/em> and ABP News<\/em>.<\/p>\n The posts either implied or claimed that the doughnut shop was sealed after the alleged incident between the employee and the chief justice. The posts collectively garnered over 361,000 views.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the viral video also began being shared on Thursday (today) by PML-N supporters as can be seen here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a> with the claim that it was the original video. The audio of this video, however, makes it seem that the alleged employee was praising the chief justice.<\/p>\n A fact-check was carried out to verify the claim due to its high virality and public interest.<\/p>\n A reverse image search conducted to investigate the viral image yielded an X post<\/a> from Islamabad Deputy Commissioner (DC) Irfan Nawaz Memon on September 11.<\/p>\n The post\u2019s caption said: \u201cAction taken in F6 for violation of anti-dengue SOPs. One outlet sealed, one person arrested. DC Islamabad directed to continue strict actions against breeding of larvae.\u201d<\/p>\n Separately, despite PML-N supporters claiming to share the original video of the incident, the version they posted still carried the \u201cEHTASHAMABBASI\u201d watermark and was shorter at 70 seconds compared to the earlier 75-second video.<\/p>\n Furthermore, in the video shared by the PTI supporters, a woman standing next to CJP Isa can be heard and seen repeating the disrespectful remarks allegedly hurled at him.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the video shared by PML-N supporters abruptly cuts the woman\u2019s question to the employee at the 62-second mark, while the full query is audible in the earlier version. This hints at the video being manipulated, with clear evidence of dubbing and synchronisation issues.<\/p>\n Contacted for comment, Affan Ahmed Khan, digital manager for Dawn News<\/em> and a video editor, also examined the video and said: \u201cThe female\u2019s voice was cut off at 1:02 [mark], and the person doing the voice-over, his audio starts. At that point, you may notice the background noise of the fan also gets lowered slightly.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the person has done is that he has clipped out the fan noise separately, made a loop of it, and placed the layer beneath his voice-over layer in the editing software while cutting down the original audio.\u201d<\/p>\n He further said that \u201cthe person dubbing the video, his voice does not have an echo in it while the room\u2019s area suggests that while speaking there should have been a slight echo in the audio\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHis dubbing shows that he directly spoke into the mic, resulting in a sharper, deepened audio. Also, the camera shakes heavily, but his audio levels and sound remain the same. It is clearly a dubbed audio.\u201d<\/p>\n Further investigation of the incident also yielded posts from journalists claiming the video was an old one. The Nation<\/em> correspondent Ali Hamza said in an X post<\/a> a day ago that the video was from August 2024 after the Supreme Court\u2019s judgement in the Mubarak Sani case<\/a>.<\/p>\n A keyword search yielded a Facebook<\/a> post<\/a> dated August 20, 2024, from former News One<\/em> correspondent Waheed Murad saying: \u201cA counter boy at a popular bakery \u2026 in the Blue Area of \u200b\u200bIslamabad, misbehaved with the chief justice of the country and his wife by refusing to sell them doughnuts.\u201d<\/p>\n The post said the incident occurred a week ago and was related to the ongoing Mubarak Sani case. At the time, there was vehement criticism<\/a> from certain sections of society towards the top judge.<\/p>\n Attempts to contact Crusteez twice for clarification on the entire matter did not yield any response.<\/p>\n However, the doughnut chain released a statement on its social media platforms. The statement is reproduced below in full:<\/p>\n \u201cAt Crusteez Donuts, we are committed to treating every customer with respect and fairness. We are aware of a video circulating where an employee refused service to a customer. This action was an individual decision and does not reflect our company\u2019s values.<\/p>\n We are investigating the situation to understand the context fully. While respecting personal beliefs, service should never be denied based on individual opinions. We are reinforcing training across all locations to ensure our teams uphold our standards of inclusivity and professionalism.<\/p>\n We apologise to the customer involved and to those impacted. Thank you for your understanding as we address this matter.\u201c<\/p>\n