A quote claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Pakistan is a cemetery for Pakistanis, is fake. BOOM found that the same fake quote has been going around since at least 2018 with different variations.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has triggered a barrage of misinformation surrounding the war and its effects on the rest of the world. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan incidentally was on a trip to Russia and was photographed meeting Putin on the day the invasion took place.
The fake quote reads, "Russian President Vladimir Putin Says: Pakistan Is A Cemetery For Pakistani's: "When a Pakistani becomes rich, his bank accounts are in Switzerland. He travels to London/America for Medical treatment. He invests in UK/Dubai. He buys from Dubai. He consumes Chinese. He prays in Rome or Mecca. his children study in Europe. He travels to Canada, USA, Europe for tourism. If he die, he will be buried in his native country of Pakistan. Pakistan is just a cemetery for Pakistani's. How could a cemetery be developed?""
Click here to view
Viral on Facebook
A search with the text on Facebook shows the same fake quote being shared multiple times.
Also Read: Old Video Of Brawl In Sindh Assembly Peddled As National Assembly Of Pakistan
FACT-CHECK
The viral quote is fake. We did not find any credible media outlet including Russian state controlled media reported such a statement made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
If Putin had made any such statement about Pakistan it would have been reported globally.
On searching with the same text we found posts from 2018 without any source being cited.
Click here to view
We also found other versions of the same quote where 'Pakistan' has been replaced by 'Africa'. Like in this screenshot below of a fake Al Jazeera West Africa Facebook page.
The official Facebook page of the Ministry of Information – Ghana on December 13, 2018, had refuted the fake page and claim.