DigitEye India Fact Checkers
As the Joint Parliamentary Committee the Waqf Amendment Bill is set to begin its meeting on November 9, 2024, a social media post claiming that the total assets of India’s Waqf Board are larger than Pakistan — is going viral. The claim reads:
“The area of Pakistan is 8.81 lakh square kilometres. The area of the Waqf Board is 9.40 lakh square kilometres. One Pakistan was created outside, and one was created inside. Keep sleeping. This is the amazing work of Congress.”
Q. How many Pakistans did Congress party create ?
Ans. 3
1. West Pakistan
2. East Pakistan
3. Waqf Land : spread throughout the truncated India. pic.twitter.com/Pwwz6E0bPS— SUSHIL SHARMA (@Onlyesskay) November 7, 2024
The same has been shared here and here.
FACT-CHECK
When Digiteye India received a request to fact-check the claim, we first searched for relevant claims online and found that it was being shared as a postcard on X triggered the debate over the size of Waqf Board lands in India.
However, official report by the Press Information Bureau titled, “Explainer on Waqf Amendment Bill 2024” on its official website on September 13, 2024 gives out the exact figures. The draft by the Ministry of Minority Affairs said: “Wakf Boards currently control 8.7 lakh properties spanning 9.4 lakh acres across India with an estimated value of (Rs) 1.2 lakh crores. India has the largest waqf holding in the World. Further, Waqf Board is the largest landowner in India after the Armed Forces and the Indian Railways.”
The 9.4 lakh acres area of India’s Waqf Board turns out to be around 3,804 square kilometres. But Pakistan’s total area is 8,81,913 square kilometres, which is almost 231 times larger than the total area managed by Waqf Boards in India. Hence, the claim is false.
Claim: The total assets of India’s Waqf Board at 9.4 lakh square km is larger than the are of Pakistan at 8.81 lakh sqkm.
Conclusion: Misleading. The 9.4 lakh acres area of India’s Waqf Board means 3,804 square km compared to Pakistan’s area of 8,81,913 square km, which is almost 231 times larger.
Rating: Misleading — 
