Fact-check: Did Azma Bokhari say this about Maryam Nawaz Sharif?

A clip, which has been viewed over 600,000 times on social media, claims to show “a rare video” of Punjab’s Information Minister Azma Zahid Bokhari mocking Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, accusing Sharif of not being capable of being elected as a councilor in the local government in Punjab.

The claim is false. Bokhari’s speech has been edited to change its meaning. Her comments were instead directed at another politician, Yasmin Rashid.

Claim

A clip began circulating on X and Facebook after Maryam Nawaz Sharif was elected the first woman chief minister of Punjab.

In the clip doing the rounds, Azma Zahid Bokhari, who is currently the information minister of Punjab, and also a member of Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) can be heard allegedly saying the following about Sharif:

“Who is Maryam Nawaz Sharif? She is not even competent to be elected a councilor. You [Maryam] seem to have some misconceptions about yourself.”

Similar claims were shared here, here and here.

Fact

Geo Fact Check tracked down the actual press conference of Punjab’s Information Minister Azma Zahid Bokhari. The presser dates back to February 26, 2023, and is not recent.

In the media talk, which was telecasted by several television channels, Bokhari can be clearly heard speaking about Yasmin Rashid, a senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and not Maryam Nawaz Sharif.

In the old video, Bokhari accuses Rashid of using inappropriate words for politician Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who at the time was the senior vice president of the PML-N, after which Bokhari says the following words about Rashid:

“In your conversation yesterday you invited Maryam Nawaz Sharif to come and sit with you. But who are you? You cannot even be elected a councilor.”

With additional reporting by Muhammad Binyameen Iqbal.

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