Did Shehbaz Sharif Meet Benjamin Netanyahu at the Cairo Peace Summit?
In October 2025, a photograph featuring Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in conversation with a foreign leader began circulating widely across social media platforms, accompanied by explosive captions and accusations. The posts claimed that the man in the photo was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and alleged that Shehbaz Sharif had secretly met him during the Cairo Peace Summit. Many users went as far as invoking Article 6 of Pakistan’s Constitution which concerns treason accusing the Prime Minister of betraying Pakistan’s official stance of non-recognition of Israel. The claim quickly went viral, spreading outrage among politically charged circles online.
However, upon careful investigation, CyberPoe X confirms that the claim is false and misleading. The man meeting Shehbaz Sharif in the image is not Benjamin Netanyahu, but Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia. This clarification fundamentally changes the nature of the narrative being circulated, revealing yet another case of deliberate online misrepresentation designed to exploit political sensitivities in Pakistan.
The Origin and Spread of the False Claim
The controversy began when the image, taken during the Cairo Peace Summit held in Egypt, was uploaded by anonymous political accounts and partisan pages. These posts paired the photo with inflammatory text suggesting a secret meeting between Shehbaz Sharif and Netanyahu. The message resonated strongly with social media audiences due to Pakistan’s firm diplomatic position: the state does not recognise Israel and has historically maintained that relations cannot be established until Palestine achieves an independent and sovereign state.
Within hours, the image shared alongside comments calling the meeting an act of betrayal was reposted thousands of times across Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok. Several pages even edited the image with misleading captions to create a sense of urgency and scandal. Despite the emotional tone and virality, there was no verification of the individuals in the photograph before it began circulating.
Verification and the Real Context
CyberPoe X conducted a thorough visual and contextual verification of the image. A comparison with official government releases from both Islamabad and Yerevan quickly established the truth: the photograph was taken from a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, held on the sidelines of the Cairo Peace Summit. Official footage and stills released by the Government of Pakistan’s media wing (PID) and the Armenian Prime Minister’s Office confirm the identity of the leader as Pashinyan.
The meeting itself was entirely legitimate and diplomatic in nature, focusing on regional cooperation, peacebuilding, and trade linkages. It took place alongside several other bilateral engagements between world leaders attending the summit. There was no presence or participation by Israel at the event, and the suggestion of any contact between Shehbaz Sharif and Netanyahu is factually impossible given that Benjamin Netanyahu did not attend the Cairo Peace Summit.
Who Was Actually at the Cairo Peace Summit
The Cairo Peace Summit, convened in October 2025 by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, was a high-profile international gathering aimed at discussing the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the broader peace process in the Middle East. The summit brought together leaders from Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, France, Italy, and South Africa, among others. Israel, however, was not invited to the conference due to ongoing hostilities in Gaza and widespread international criticism of its military actions.
Given this diplomatic reality, the claim that Shehbaz Sharif met Netanyahu collapses on basic factual grounds. No Israeli official, let alone the Prime Minister, was present at the summit venue in Cairo.
Understanding Armenia–Pakistan Diplomatic Contact
The real photograph depicts a rare and diplomatically significant encounter between Pakistan and Armenia two countries that have had limited formal engagement for decades. Pakistan has long supported Azerbaijan’s position in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which has historically strained relations with Armenia. However, the changing geopolitical landscape of the South Caucasus, along with renewed regional dialogue initiatives, has encouraged cautious diplomatic outreach.
According to official readouts, the discussion between Shehbaz Sharif and Nikol Pashinyan at the Cairo Summit centered around regional peace, trade, and development cooperation, not any form of strategic alignment. The meeting marks one of the few instances of high-level contact between the two states and should be seen in the context of multilateral diplomacy not as a deviation from Pakistan’s foreign policy principles.
The Anatomy of a Misleading Image
The misinformation originated from contextual manipulation, a common form of digital disinformation where authentic photos are miscaptioned to fit a false narrative. In this case, the image used was genuine but stripped of its real context and paired with a fabricated claim for political effect.
A reverse image search by CyberPoe X revealed that the same photograph had been uploaded earlier on the official social media handles of both governments with proper attribution. However, within hours, several unverified accounts had downloaded and reuploaded the image with edited captions alleging a secret meeting with Israel. This act of repurposing official imagery for misinformation reflects a deliberate attempt to exploit public emotions surrounding national ideology and religious sentiment.
CyberPoe X Verdict
After cross-verifying official sources, event participant lists, and visual details, CyberPoe X concludes that the viral claim is false. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif did not meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the Cairo Peace Summit or at any related event. The man in the image is Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, and the photograph documents a legitimate diplomatic engagement between Pakistan and Armenia.
This misinformation incident illustrates how visual content manipulation and politically charged framing can distort public perception. In an age of high-speed virality, even a single miscaptioned image can mislead thousands, inflame tensions, and erode trust in credible institutions.
The Cairo Summit image controversy underscores the importance of media literacy and source verification in countering disinformation. As digital ecosystems grow increasingly polarized, fact-based journalism and independent verification remain the strongest tools against misinformation.
Final Assessment
The claim that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Benjamin Netanyahu in Cairo is baseless and misleading. The viral image has been misrepresented and taken out of context to provoke outrage. In reality, it captures an official meeting between Pakistan’s Prime Minister and his Armenian counterpart, held as part of normal diplomatic proceedings during an international peace summit.
CyberPoe X reaffirms that no evidence exists of any diplomatic contact between Pakistan and Israel during or after the Cairo Peace Summit. This case serves as yet another reminder that misinformation thrives where context is stripped away and that vigilance in digital verification is essential to preserving truth in public discourse.
CyberPoe X | The Anti-Propaganda Frontline
