Marriyum says Punjab CM's rising popularity behind criticism over UK trip, terrorism remarks

Lambastes K-P govt spokesperson, labelling his statements as 'cheap rhetoric'

Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday backed Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz for her use of a government plane for a private tour to the United Kingdom as well as her remarks about a greater threat of terrorism emanating from other provinces than neighbouring countries.

CM Maryam travelled to London last week on a Rs10billion government-owned luxury jet to attend her daughter’s graduation ceremony and returned to Lahore on Wednesday. According to a motion forwarded in the Punjab Assembly, the visit cost around Rs12.5million to the national exchequer.

Furthermore, her remarks accusing other provinces of posing a greater security threat to the province compared to neighbouring countries also drew ire from the public. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly on Friday passed a resolution seeking action against her under Article 6 of the Constitution.

In a post on X, Marriyum said, “The issue these days is not the [use of government] plane or Maryam Nawaz’s statement [on security threat from other provinces]; the real issue is with Maryam Nawaz’s performance and her rising popularity.”

She reiterated that CM Maryam would bear the complete expenses of her visit to London, so it was a non-issue.

آج کل تکلیف جہاز اور مریم نواز کے بیان کی نہیں ہے تکلیف مریم نواز کی کارکردگی اور بڑھتی ہوئی مقبولیت سے ہے۔ واضح طور پہ بتا دیا گیا ہے کہ لندن دورے کا خرچہ مریم نواز نے خود ادا کرنا ہے.
وزیراعلی پنجاب کے بیان کو صوبوں میں نفرت اور قوم میں تقسیم پیدا کرنے کے لیے استعمال کرنے…

— Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) September 12, 2026

The senior minister also said that elements were using Punjab CM's statement to culminate hatred and further division among provinces.

“[They] should apologise to the public,” she emphasised.

She also lambasted the K-P government spokesperson, labelling his statements as “cheap rhetoric” which, according to her, was a continuation of the use of detestable language against women by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

“Unfortunately, elements have been imposed on K-P who are not even aware of the traditions of the proud Pashtuns who respect their mothers, sisters, and daughters,” she highlighted, adding, “Terrorists blow people to pieces with guns and suicide jackets, and their facilitators use language as a weapon to insult people, especially women.”

Read: Marriyum defends Punjab CM's terrorism remarks

On Sunday, Marriyum had condemned the "deliberate attempt" to distort CM Maryam's remarks on counterterrorism by presenting them negatively on social media, saying her comments about the inter-provincial movement of terrorists had been thrown shade of "provincial and ethnic" divide for political point-scoring.

Meanwhile, PTI, the main opposition party, lashed out at the chief minister, alleging that her remarks reflected an intention to "break Pakistan apart".

The party said, "Love for India always wells up from the hearts of the Sharif family, while harbouring hatred for their own smaller provinces."

The PTI said it was "extremely regrettable and irresponsible" for a provincial leader to describe neighbouring provinces within Pakistan as a threat.