Punjab govt to take legal action against those involved in ‘malicious campaign’ over use of official jet

LAHORE: Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Sunday that the provincial government has decided to take legal action against those involved in a “malicious campaign” targeting it over the use of an official jet. Last month, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz faced severe criticism from the opposition and some journalists regarding the government’s purchase of the aircraft. The Gulfstream 19-seater jet is estimated to be worth between $38 million and $42m (over Rs10bn) and was acquired for the CM’s use. More recently, there have been claims and speculation on social media about Maryam’s son, Junaid Safdar, using the jet to travel to Europe for his honeymoon. In a post on X, the senior minister took note of a “deliberate malicious campaign of lies and fabricated stories about the use of the official plane of the Punjab government”, which she said was being run by “known pathological liars and peddlers of fake news”. The minister shared that the government had decided to take legal action against “every individual and platform” involved under the Defamation Law 2024. “Disinformation will no longer go unanswered,” she added. Aurangzeb warned that “those who think they can malign institutions and mislead the public without consequence should prepare to face the law”. She said that the provincial government will aim to “seek recourse to the maximum penalty under the law to ensure a clear and unequivocal message”. The minister held that fake news was not “real journalism” but rather defamation. “Pathological lying lunatics will not be tolerated; enough is enough,” she stressed.

It was initially reported that the registration number of the luxury plane purchased by the provincial government was N144S. A search on flight tracking website Flight Radar showed that the plane travelled from Vienna today and landed in Lahore at 9:30pm.

But, the Sharif family clarified in a statement that the reports of Junaid Safdar travelling to Vienna in the jet were false and that he was at his residence in Raiwind along with his wife. The statement issued by the Sharif family’s spokesperson further stated that Junaid reserved the right to take legal action against those spreading “false and fake news”. Earlier, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari had stated that the aircraft had gone to Vienna for “technical inspection.” “The speculation circulating about it is not only contrary to facts but also unfortunate. Technical inspection of the aircraft within a specified period is part of the contract. Those spreading baseless rumours about a routine inspection should focus on more constructive matters,” Bokhari had said. She added that earlier, a “false propaganda campaign” was launched regarding Maryam Nawaz’s travel abroad, and now “fabricated stories are being circulated about her family”. “Politics of lies and propaganda can not survive for long, as the truth ultimately comes to light,” she commented. Aurangzeb had also previously accused PTI activists and others of running a vilification campaign against CM Maryam over the decision to acquire the luxury jet. The PTI-led opposition has maintained that “spending billions on a VIP aircraft is unjustifiable when a large portion of the population lives below the poverty line”. Similarly, Jamaat-i-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman had also assailed the provincial government, saying that while the prime minister celebrated the sale of the national carrier Pakistan International Airlines, his niece, CM Maryam, went ahead and purchased a luxury aircraft for “elite” travel. The Punjab administration had remained tight-lipped about the acquisition initially, but later claimed that it was part of a proposed airline project. When questions arose about the absence of a roadmap for the airline, the government later stated that the previous plane used by CM Maryam had become old and needed to be replaced with a “safe new jet”.