No, Pakistan is not implementing a version of Citizenship Amendment Act for Indian Muslims

Context

On March 11, 2024, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notified the Citizenship Amendment Rules, 2024, which would enable the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed by Parliament in 2019. This law facilitates an expedited pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan — all Muslim-majority countries — who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.

However, the CAA has sparked significant controversy within India, drawing criticism for its exclusion of Muslims from these neighboring countries. Critics argue that in conjunction with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) — a proposed official record of Indian citizens — the new law discriminates against Indian Muslims. Large-scale protests erupted in 2019 and early 2020 in opposition to the legislation.

What’s the claim?

Amid discussions around this law, a screenshot purportedly from an X (formerly Twitter) post by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has gone viral on social media. The text in the screenshot reads: “To counter Indian Govt's undemocratic and communal CAA, the Govt of Pakistan has decided to notify Pakistan's own CAA, in which Indian Muslims who feel persecuted in India will be given the citizenship of Pakistan (sic).” One such post sharing this screenshot had amassed 3,60,000 views and was reshared 4,000 times at the time of writing. Archived versions of such posts can be accessed here, here, and here.

This claim was also shared in the form of a breaking news broadcast. An X user wrote, “The Pakistani government is likely to implement the Pakistan's Version of CAA for Indian Islamic individuals who remained in India during the 1947 Partition. Pakistani CAA also Decided provide Pakistan Citizenship for those Indian Muslims who feel persecuted in India.~ News Unknown source from Pakistan (sic).” Archived versions of such posts can be accessed here and here.

Screenshot of claims made online (Source: X/ Modified by Logically Facts)

What we found

An investigation by Logically Facts determined that the alleged X post originated from an account named "BHKslams," which primarily shares memes and satire, around 8:00 p.m. on March 11, 2024. Despite the post's humorous intent, it was widely shared as a factual report.

Further scrutiny of Sharif's official X account revealed no posts matching the one described in the viral screenshot. His latest post, dated March 10, 2024, thanked the President of the Maldives, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, for a congratulatory message on his election as Pakistan's prime minister.

An examination of Sharif's X account via the Wayback Machine showed entries for March 8, 12, and 13 but none for March 10 or 11. Analysis by Social Blade, a social media analytics tool, indicated that Sharif posted four times on March 11 (adjusted to March 10 to account for a difference in time zones) and had not deleted any posts from that period.

Screenshot of analysis by Social Blade. (Source: Screenshot/Social Blade/Modified by Logically Facts)

No credible sources or news reports support the claim that Pakistan plans to implement a CAA-like law. Such an announcement would likely have attracted widespread attention.

Logically Facts also contacted two Pakistani journalists who confirmed that the information on social media is "totally wrong" and has “no basis.” Islamabad-based journalist Naveed Akbar said no such law is being mulled in Pakistan, “not even at the lower levels.”

The verdict

The Pakistani government has not announced plans to implement its version of the CAA for Indian Muslims. Consequently, we have marked this claim as false.