Viral Videos Falsely Attribute Imran Khan Release Statement to Sheikh Ekrima Sabri
Published On 16 May, 2026
Claim: Viral videos claim that Sheikh Ekrima Sa’id Sabri, preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, called for the release of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Fact: The claim is false. There is no reliable evidence that Sheikh Ekrima Sabri made any statement in support of Imran Khan’s release after Khan’s arrest in August 2023.
Viral videos circulating on Facebook, Threads and TikTok claim that Sheikh Ekrima Sa’id Sabri, the preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, demanded the “immediate release” of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan.
The videos use emotional voiceovers and claim that Sheikh Sabri described Imran Khan as an important Muslim leader who had been jailed for supporting Gaza and speaking for Muslims on global forums.
However, no verified news report, sermon, statement or interview from Sheikh Sabri supports this claim. Searches of reputable media reports from 2025 and 2026 also show no evidence that he spoke about Imran Khan’s imprisonment or demanded his release.
Fact-checkers also found no Arabic-language source linking Sheikh Sabri to any recent statement about Imran Khan. His recent public activity has mainly focused on Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israeli restrictions, raids on the mosque, Jerusalem and his own legal challenges.
It is true that Sheikh Sabri praised Imran Khan in the past when Khan was Pakistan’s prime minister. In April 2022, he reportedly appreciated Khan’s position on Palestine. In July 2022, he also wrote a congratulatory letter after PTI’s Punjab by-election victory.
But these older remarks were made before Imran Khan’s arrest in August 2023. They do not prove that Sheikh Sabri has recently called for his release.
Conclusion
The claim that Al-Aqsa Mosque preacher Sheikh Ekrima Sabri called for Imran Khan’s release is false. No reliable source confirms that he made such remarks in 2026 or at any time after Khan’s arrest in August 2023.
