Lahore: Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Bokhari appeared before the District Courts on Wednesday and recorded her statement as a prosecution witness in the fake video case.
Recording her statement before the court, Azma Bokhari said she was not an accused in the case but the complainant and the person who had been wronged. She maintained that the matter was not merely an ordinary civil dispute but involved the honour and dignity of a woman.
The provincial minister told the court that a fake video 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.
Azma Bokhari stated that during the night between July 24 and 25, 2024, she was browsing social media at her residence when she came across videos on Facebook and TikTok carrying captions claiming that one of her videos had been leaked.
She said she subsequently checked her Twitter account, where she also saw a tweet posted by the accused, Falak Javed. The fake video subsequently went viral on social media, she added.
According to Azma Bokhari, she went to the Lahore High Court the following day and reached the Chief Justice’s courtroom, where she waited for approximately four hours. After her petition was admitted, the court issued directions for further proceedings, she said.
The minister said she also had security concerns and had therefore requested that her statement be recorded through video link. She expressed concern over the conduct of the accused and her associates during court proceedings.
‘If this is happening to a minister, then what must be happening to ordinary people?’ she remarked.
Azma Bokhari said she was not afraid of the accused. ‘Being afraid of the accused-what time is the Day of Judgment?’ she remarked.
She said every party had the right to challenge a court order, but bullying and intimidation could not be allowed inside a courtroom.
The minister said she respected the parents of the accused but regretted the language being used against her. She added that she only wanted justice from the court.
Azma Bokhari further said she did not want her supporters and people accompanying the accused to confront each other or for any unpleasant situation to develop. She said she had therefore stopped several people who wanted to accompany her from coming to court.
During the hearing, the issue of a YouTuber’s tweet regarding the alleged issuance of arrest warrants for Azma Bokhari also came under discussion. She asked the court to clarify when the warrants had been issued. The concerned YouTuber subsequently apologised to her in the courtroom.
A heated exchange also took place between Azma Bokhari and Mian Ali Ashfaq, counsel for Falak Javed. Azma Bokhari told the lawyer, ‘Do not act like a dictator. Lower your voice while speaking.’
Later, Azma Bokhari and Falak Javed also exchanged heated remarks inside the courtroom.
During arguments, Azma Bokhari’s counsel, Ali Bokhari, said challenging a court order was the right of every citizen and that his client had challenged the order strictly in accordance with the law.
He said they had requested the court to take up the matter at that stage so that Azma Bokhari could appear and record her statement, which the court had allowed.
Ali Bokhari said that if the accused’s counsel engaged in political discussion inside the courtroom, the response could also become political, but they did not want to disrupt the courtroom environment.
He maintained that proceedings could move forward more effectively if personal attacks and political statements were avoided. Instead of engaging in political discussion, he said, the defence counsel should focus on the relevant legal points so that the case could proceed.
He also requested that unrelated individuals who disrupted the courtroom environment should not be allowed inside.
The court conditionally permitted the relevant lawyers to enter the courtroom at the next hearing and directed that YouTubers would not be allowed inside the courtroom during future proceedings.
The court also directed jail authorities to produce Falak Javed before it within 20 minutes.
The court fixed September 12 for cross-examination of Azma Bokhari on her statement and adjourned further proceedings until the next hearing.
