Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
18-year-old Pakistani man marries his mother.
Fact
Claim is false, the youth helped arrange his mother’s second marriage.
Several social media users are claiming that an 18-year-old Pakistani man, Abdul Ahad, has married his mother, sharing purported visuals of the two while mocking them. “This Pakistani guy just ruined the meaning of the relationship between Mother-Son. #shameless guy doesn’t even think twice before marrying his own #mother,” read an X post, while another stated “societal degradation has reached melting point”.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact Check
Newschecker noticed that in the 1:01 video shared in the viral posts, the text in the clip read, “Son marries off his mother in a heartwarming gesture”, indicating that it was misinterpreted by the users. “Marries off” is a phrasal verb that means to find a spouse for someone, which in this case refers to the son arranging his mother’s marriage.
We then ran a keyword search for “Abdul Ahad mother marriage”, which led us to multiple news reports, seen here, here and here, stating that a young man from Pakistan took it upon himself to arrange his mother’s second marriage, helping her to begin a new chapter in life after years of hardship.
“In a heartwarming video shared on Instagram, Abdul Ahad captured the emotional moments leading up to his mother’s nikah (marriage) ceremony… The now-viral footage beautifully captures their close bond. Narrating the story in the video, Ahad said, ‘For the past 18 years, I tried my best to give her a special life according to my worth, as she sacrificed her whole life for us. But eventually, she deserved her own peaceful life, so as a son, I think I did the right thing. I supported my mom to take a second chance at love and life after 18 years.’ The video ends with heartwarming scenes from the nikah ceremony as the family gathers together to celebrate the moment,” read an Indian Express report, dated December 31, 2024.
In a follow-up Instagram post, Abdul shared a photo from the ceremony alongside a heartfelt note. “It took me days to share the news of my mother’s marriage due to hesitation, but the love and support you all showed is truly overwhelming. I told Amma how you people appreciated and respected our decision, and we are both grateful. I may not be able to respond to every message, comment, and story, but please know that each one means the world to us,” he wrote. Pakistani media reports, too, can be seen here and here, which further confirms that the viral claim is false.
Also Read: No, This Photo Does Not Show Manmohan Singh Touching Sonia Gandhi’s Feet
Conclusion
Viral story of Pakistani man arranging his mother’s second marriage shared with false claim that the two married each other.
Result: False
Source
Indian Express report, December 31, 2024
Instagram video, Abdul Ahad, December 18, 2024
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
