A so-called’travel advisory’ from the interim Afghan government advising its national not to visist Pakistan amid protests against inflated electricity bills in different parts of the county has been making rounds on social media.

A news agency also ran a story which was picked up by country’s two leading newspapers in Urdu and English.

Several journalists have commented on the statement being attributed to the Taliban regime.

But Aaj News fact check found that the statement was issued in May following the violent protests that erupted in Pakistan after PTI chief Imran Khan was arrested and it has no connection with the recent energy crisis protests.

The report about the statement from the Taliban was shared a day after some Western countries issued an advisory for their nationals intending to travel to Pakistan.

Social media posts shared the screenshot of a statement from Afghanistan’s foreign affair ministry.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is saddened by the recent events in Pakistan, leading to large-scale protests and even violence in some instances,” said the statement.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given necessary instructions to our offices in Pakistan with regards to protection of Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan during these developments,” it read.

While the statement is not fake it was reproduced in a different context and with a wrong captions that the Afghan government had advised it national against traveling to Pakistan.

The statement has no mention of travel. Originally it was issued from the interim government issued on May 22, 2023 , almost two weeks after May 9 violence.

The screenshot shared by many journalists of the foreign ministry’s statement did not show the date on which it was issued. The original statement does have a date.

The last important announcement made by the Afghan foreign ministry on its website was on July 29, according to the ministry’s website. Below are the screenshots taken from the website on September 3 evening.

Moreover, the latest news on the website was posted on September 1 which was about the acting foreign minister’s meeting with the delegation of scholars of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

The veracity of the statement was also questionable because the Afghan cricket team has been in Pakistan since August 28 to participate in the Asia Cup.

The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side was playing their first match of the tournament against Bangladesh in Lahore on Sunday.

Pakistan are the co-host of the regional event with Sri Lanka.