Punjab MPA Hina Parvez Butt defends deleted X post on alleged CCD encounter amid criticism

Dawn · 22/10/2026، 3:45:09 PM

Punjab lawmaker Hina Parvez Butt on Thursday defended herself after a social media post by her regarding an alleged encounter by Punjab’s Crime Control Department prompted outrage and criticism. On Wednesday, a suspect accused of running over a teenage boy who worked for him with his car in a private housing society in Multan, was killed in an alleged encounter in Bahawalpur. The killing of the teenager, Waseem, had sparked anger among the public, with a police officer saying the he had been “subjected to barbarity”. “This is [Punjab Chief Minister] Maryam Nawaz sahiba ’s government; justice is served immediately,” Butt subsequently wrote on X, sharing screengrabs of a TV report regarding the alleged encounter. She later deleted the post after it was widely panned for “celebrating extrajudicial killings”. In a video statement posted on X on Thursday, Butt said: “I posted a tweet in which I said, ‘This is Maryam Nawaz Sharif sahiba’s government; justice is served immediately’. This was my personal opinion and creating propaganda on this was uncalled for.” She said that the post was meant to express the “feelings of an ordinary citizen”. She asserted that she did not “blame” the chief minister, the Punjab government or talk about any institution. She said that criticising her for this was “uncalled for”. She also took exception to remarks by Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari, saying that she “respectfully disagreed”. On Wednesday night, Bokhari had appeared on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Ke Saath’ , where she was asked about Butt’s post. The Punjab minister said that Butt had a habit of saying things without thinking them through, which caused problems for her and become a “source of embarrassment for the government”. Referring to the remarks, Butt said: “None of my actions or words have ever harmed or embarrassed the Punjab chief minister or the government. If Azma Bokhari sahiba is feeling embarrassed, that is her personal choice. “I don’t feel t