A family member of Ishtiaq said in Sohail Afridi’s presence that his death was an accident and that neither the government nor Punjab Police was involved, Punjab Information Minister Uzma Bukhari said.
LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 14th Sep, 2026) Punjab Information Minister Uzma Bukhari said the emergence of an important video concerning Ishtiaq’s death had changed the course of the incident.
In a statement issued from the provincial capital, Uzma Bukhari said that, in the presence of Sohail Afridi, a member of Ishtiaq’s family clearly stated that Ishtiaq’s death was an accident and that neither the government nor Punjab Police had any involvement.
She claimed that the video showed a member of Ishtiaq’s family saying, in the presence of Salman Akram and Sohail Afridi, that no PTI leader had contacted them or asked about their welfare for 17 days.
She said Sohail Afridi’s guards then began assaulting the man.
The provincial information minister said Sohail Afridi’s guards had also misbehaved with journalists in Lahore today over the making of videos.
She said she was also sharing a statement by Ishtiaq’s son, in which the incident was described as an accident.
Uzma Bukhari accused PTI YouTubers of portraying the incident inaccurately and said Sohail Afridi had come to Lahore to stage a “public stunt.” She alleged that Punjab Police officers were mistreated at various points along the route into Punjab, asking whether such actions were appropriate for any chief executive.
The provincial information minister said Sohail Afridi arrived at the late Ishtiaq’s home wearing dark glasses to score political points, while no PTI leader had visited the home of the late Zil Shah for three years.
She said politicising deaths was an old practice of the PTI.
Uzma Bukhari said none of Sohail Afridi’s workers considered it appropriate to welcome him upon his arrival in Lahore. She added that four people had died in a coal mine in Kohat that day, but Sohail Afridi came to Lahore instead of visiting Kohat.
She said the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had travelled approximately 530 kilometres from Peshawar to Lahore to offer condolences and had come to Lahore for another visit after a year.
