A video circulating on social media has gone viral as it features the new owner of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Arif Habib, promising a 50% discount on all Hajj and Umrah tickets.
Senior PML-N London leader Waheed Nazir shared the clip on X (formerly Twitter), writing in Urdu that PIA’s name would not be changed and that “every year the poor will be given an Umrah package.”
پی آئی اے کا نام تبدیل نہیں کیا جائیگا،
اور ہر سال غریب عوام کو عمرہ کا پیکج دیاجائیگا، عارف حبیب pic.twitter.com/1zHUOYQrPI— Waheed Nazir (@WaheedN15) January 2, 2026
The video has raised concerns about whether the video is real or not. Short answer: No, it’s an AI deepfake, not a real announcement.
The video shows a hyper-realistic version of Habib seated in what looks like a PIA cockpit, delivering what sounds like a corporate address mixed with populist pledges.
Internet users quickly pointed out tell-tale signs that the clip is AI-generated. Many commenters openly called it a “deepfake,” while others treated it as satire, joking about how privatization is suddenly being sold with grand welfare promises.
So far, there has been no official statement from PIA, the Arif Habib–led consortium, or the government announcing a 50% discount on Hajj or Umrah tickets, free Umrah packages, or any similar subsidy tied to the privatization deal. The pledges in the video remain confined to the realm of parody.
