Azma Bokhari hits back at Barrister Saif over audit report claims

LAHORE: Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari has issued a strong response to recent remarks made by Barrister Saif against Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, calling his interpretation of the audit report misleading and politically driven, ARY News reported.

Speaking to the media, Azma Bokhari said, “Before making noise about the audit report, read it carefully, it exposes the mismanagement under your own leadership.”

She added that the audit report being discussed relates specifically to the tenures of former Punjab Chief Ministers Usman Buzdar and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

Referring to specific portions of the report, Azma Bokhari pointedly said, “Read page 87 and 96 of the report, maybe you’ll feel some shame.”

She clarified that the much-talked-about figure of Rs10 trillion pertains to wheat procurement and subsidies between 2018 and 2023, a period when, she emphasised, the PTI government was in power in Punjab.

“The people of Pakistan know exactly who was in charge during that time,” she remarked.

Calling the 2018 to 2023 period one of the “darkest eras of corruption, incompetence, and looting” in Punjab’s history, Azma Bokhari drew a comparison between the governance of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under PTI.

“What looting was done in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for 12 years, the same was repeated in Punjab during those 4 years,” she said.

She didn’t hold back from naming individuals either. “The thefts and scandals involving Bushra Bibi and Farah Gogi are also part of the official record,” she said.

In a stinging remark about PTI leaders, Azma Bokhari warned, “The final destination of Ali Amin and Barrister Saif’s so-called achievements seems to be Adiala Jail.”

Earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Adviser on Information, Barrister Saif, accused Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz of being involved in massive financial irregularities worth Rs10 trillion.

According to reports, Barrister Saif, the Punjab government is unable to explain the serious financial mismanagement highlighted in the latest audit report.

He said the lack of response from Punjab authorities clearly indicates widespread corruption and ongoing looting under Maryam Nawaz’s leadership.

He claimed the audit report confirms large-scale corruption linked to the Chief Minister and alleged that Maryam Nawaz is responsible for misusing Rs10 trillion in public funds.

Barrister Saif also alleged that development projects in Punjab are launched only to secure kickbacks, not for the welfare of the people.