Senior Provincial Minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb.
LAHORE:
The Punjab government has decided to take legal action against those involved in a “malicious campaign” regarding the use of an official aircraft by the provincial administration, senior Punjab minister Marriyum Aurangzeb warned, amid growing confusion over government claims that the newly purchased luxury jet was undergoing routine maintenance.
In a post on X, Aurangzeb said she had noticed a “deliberately malicious campaign of lies and fabricated stories about the use of the official Punjab government aircraft”, claiming it was run by “known pathological liars and peddlers of fake news”.
She said the provincial government had decided to initiate legal proceedings against “every individual and platform” involved under the Defamation Act 2024.
“Disinformation will no longer go unanswered,” she added. Aurangzeb warned that “those who think they can defame institutions and mislead the public without consequence should prepare to face the law”.
She further said the government intended to “seek the application of the maximum sentence under the law to ensure a clear and unequivocal message”.
The minister also maintained that fake news was not “real journalism” but slander.
“Pathological lying insanity will not be tolerated; enough is enough,” she stressed.
After this, Azma Bukhari also took to social media and stated that first false claims had been spread that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was traveling abroad and now fabricated stories were being created about her family.
“The same energy that goes into spreading lies, if only it had been used for public welfare, people might have believed you today.
You can continue to spread lies but Maryam Nawaz will keep introducing new initiatives for the welfare of the people and will continue to win their hearts. The old tactics of playing the victim, innocence or political victim card will no longer work,” she wrote.
Earlier on Saturday, Information Minister Azma Zahid Bokhari, speaking to The Express Pakinomist, strongly denied rumors that the recently purchased official luxury jet was under her son’s personal use.
On reports surrounding the Punjab government plane in Vienna, after days of speculation about the presence of the CM’s plane on foreign tarmac, Azma wrote that the plane had been sent to Vienna for a technical inspection, adding that such inspections within a specified time period are part of contractual obligations.
The Gulfstream plane has remained at the center of controversy since reports of the multibillion-rupee luxury jet first emerged in the media, with critics questioning the government’s commitment to austerity at a time when the country remains trapped in a persistent debt cycle.
