Punjab MPA Hina Parvez Butt has rejected Information Minister Azma Bokhari’s criticism of her deleted social media post about the killing of a suspect in an alleged Crime Control Department (CCD) encounter, saying that her remarks about the Punjab government were her personal opinion and did not warrant the criticism she received.
In a video statement posted on X on Thursday, Butt said that she disagreed with Bokhari’s remarks about her conduct, arguing that her social media post reflected the feelings of an ordinary citizen rather than a comment on the chief minister, the provincial government or any institution.
Butt had posted on Wednesday after a suspect accused of running over a teenage boy in Multan was killed in an alleged CCD encounter in Bahawalpur. Sharing screenshots of a television report about the incident, she wrote, “This is Maryam Nawaz sahiba’s government; justice is served immediately.”
She later deleted the post after it drew criticism for appearing to celebrate an alleged extrajudicial killing.
In her video statement, Butt repeated the wording of her original post and said that creating propaganda around her personal opinion was “uncalled for”. She maintained that she had neither blamed Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz Sharif nor criticised the Punjab government or any institution.
Butt also responded to Bokhari’s comments during an appearance on a private news channel on Wednesday night.
During the programme, the information minister said that Butt had a habit of making statements without thinking them through, creating problems for herself and becoming a “source of embarrassment for the government.”
Rejecting that assessment, Butt said her words and actions had never harmed or embarrassed the chief minister or the provincial government.
“If Azma Bokhari sahiba is feeling embarrassed, that is her personal choice,” she said.
Butt acknowledged Bokhari’s role as the government’s official spokesperson and said it was appropriate for her to clarify the government’s policy. However, she described the minister’s personal remarks about her as unnecessary.
“I don’t feel that anyone should be embarrassed at anything I tweeted on my social media account,” Butt stated, adding that she again respectfully disagreed with Bokhari.
Defending her original post, the MPA referred to recent violent incidents involving minors and young people and called for the parents of those affected to be invited onto television shows to discuss how people responsible for harming their children should be treated.
Butt said that she believed her remarks reflected public sentiment and questioned whether those defending suspects understood the experiences of families whose children’s bodies were recovered in terrible states.
The suspect in Waseem’s death was accused of running over the boy, who worked for him, with a car inside a private housing society in Multan. The teenager’s killing sparked public anger, with a police officer describing the treatment he suffered as “barbarity”.
The CCD, established last year, has faced criticism from human rights advocates and civil society members over the number of people that have died in captivity.
