LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Information and Culture, Azma Bokhari, said that the August 5, protest had already failed before it even started.
She stated that the protest is nothing but a flop show, with even the current PTI leadership, party workers, and their close relatives showing complete disinterest. She remarked, “Phuppo’s dream remained unfulfilled; the nephews are not coming to Pakistan. The former sister-in-law has stopped her children from returning.” She added that when even the Mahatma’s own children aren’t participating in the protest, how could any so-called revolution succeed?
She further noted that Aleema Baji herself had already predicted the protest’s failure, and the current PTI leadership does not support the movement either. She strongly criticised the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, calling the Rs 354 billion corruption in local government institutions a “public charge sheet.” Funds meant for the welfare of the people, she said, are being misused and squandered.
Azma Bokhari highlighted the irony that those who consistently accuse others of corruption have themselves been setting new records of misappropriation for the past 12 years.
Speaking on the May 9 incidents, Bokhari labelled them a dark chapter in Pakistan’s history. “Instead of expressing remorse or shame, these people continue to justify those disgraceful events,” she said.
She concluded by saying, “Those who set fire to martyrs’ statues are now despised across the nation. Those being disqualified today are, in truth, guilty of a failed rebellion.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025