A person speaking in the presence of Sohail Afridi and Salman Akram clearly said that Ishtiaq’s death was an accident and that neither the government nor Punjab Police was involved, Uzma Bukhari said.
LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 14th Sep, 2026) Punjab Information Minister Uzma Bukhari said the narrative had changed after an important video emerged, claiming that a member of Ishtiaq’s family made a significant revelation in Sohail Afridi’s presence.
In the video, a person can be heard saying, in the presence of Salman Akram and Sohail Afridi, that no one had contacted the family for 17 days. In a post on X, she said the person himself stated in Sohail Afridi’s presence that Ishtiaq’s death was an accident and that the government and Punjab Police had no connection with it.
The person also said that no PTI leader had contacted or inquired about the family for 17 days. After the conversation, Sohail Afridi’s guards began assaulting the person. Sohail Afridi’s guards again misbehaved with journalists in Lahore today when they were making videos.
I am also sharing a statement by Ishtiaq’s son, who said it was an accident.
Listen to the people whom the party did not even ask about today, she said.
Uzma Bukhari said YouTubers associated with the “Movement of Mischief” gave the incident a misleading colour.
She said Sohail Afridi had reached Lahore while staging a publicity stunt and had misbehaved with Punjab Police officers at various points along the route while entering Punjab. “Does such conduct suit a chief executive?” she asked.
She said he had arrived at the late Ishtiaq’s home wearing dark glasses to score political points. She alleged that no PTI leader had visited the home of the late Zul Shah for three years, adding that politicising dead bodies was an old practice of the PTI founder and his party.
She said none of his workers considered it appropriate to receive Sohail Afridi upon his arrival in Lahore. Four people were killed in a coal mine in Kohat today, she added, saying that instead of going to Kohat, Sohail Afridi had come to Lahore. She said he had travelled 530 kilometres from Peshawar to Lahore to offer condolences and had come to Lahore for a visit again after one year.
