LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Information and Culture Azma Bokhari appeared before the District Courts on Tuesday to record her statement as a witness in the fake video case, telling the court that the matter concerned the honour and dignity of a woman rather than an ordinary civil dispute.
Azma Bokhari told the court she was not an accused in the case but the complainant, and that she had been wronged.
The Information Minister said a fake video of her had been created and circulated on social media, causing her severe mental anguish and distress. “You cannot even imagine the agony I went through,” she said.
According to her statement, during the night between July 24 and 25, 2024, she was browsing social media at her home when she came across videos on Facebook and TikTok carrying captions claiming that one of her videos had been leaked.
She said she later checked her Twitter account, where she also came across a tweet posted by the present accused, Falak Javed. Following this, the fake video went viral on social media.
The following day, she said, she went to the Lahore High Court and reached the Chief Justice’s court, where she waited approximately four hours outside the courtroom. After her petition was accepted, directions were issued for further proceedings.
The Provincial Information Minister said she had security concerns and had therefore requested the court to record her statement through video link, citing the behaviour adopted by the accused and her associates in court.
“If this is happening to a minister, then what must be happening to ordinary people?” she said. She added that she was not afraid of the accused.
She said challenging any court order was the right of every party, but that bullying and intimidation could not be allowed in the courtroom. She told the court she respected the accused’s parents, but that the language being used about her was regrettable, and said she only wanted justice.
Azma Bokhari said she had stopped many supporters who wanted to accompany her from coming to court, to avoid any confrontation between the two sides.
During the hearing, a heated exchange took place between Azma Bokhari and Mian Ali Ashfaq, counsel for Falak Javed. “Do not act like a dictator. Lower your voice while speaking,” the minister told the lawyer. Azma Bokhari and Falak Javed also exchanged heated remarks inside the courtroom.
The issue of a YouTuber’s tweet regarding the issuance of arrest warrants for Azma Bokhari also came up, with the minister asking the court to clarify when such warrants had been issued. The YouTuber concerned apologised to her in the courtroom.
Azma Bokhari’s counsel, Ali Bokhari, said challenging a court order was the right of every citizen and that they had done so strictly in accordance with the law. He said they had requested the court to take up the case so his client could appear and record her statement, which the court accepted.
He said that if the accused’s counsel engaged in political discussion in court, the response could also become political, but that they did not want to disrupt the courtroom environment. Proceedings could move forward more effectively, he argued, if personal attacks and political statements were avoided, and unrelated individuals disrupting the courtroom should not be allowed inside.
The court conditionally allowed the relevant lawyers to enter the courtroom at the next hearing and directed that YouTubers would not be permitted inside during future proceedings. It also directed jail authorities to produce Falak Javed before the court within 20 minutes.
The court fixed September 12 for cross-examination on Azma Bokhari’s statement and adjourned the proceedings.
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