Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday responded to criticism of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for using a government jet for her private London visit and her terrorism remarks, accusing opponents of twisting her statement to spread hatred.

In a post on X, the senior minister said that the issue was not the use of the aircraft or the chief minister's remarks, but her performance and growing popularity. The chief minister is being criticised over the alleged use of a government jet for her London visit last week, after her youngest daughter, Mahnoor Safdar, graduated from SOAS University of London in Anthropology.

The senior minister said that Maryam would personally bear the expenses of the visit. Without mentioning Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Marriyum also said those using the chief minister's remarks to spread hatred among provinces and create divisions within the country should apologise to the public.

The statement came in response to criticism over the chief minister's remark in which she said that Punjab was facing a greater security threat from neighbouring provinces than from neighbouring countries. Earlier on Friday, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passed a resolution by a majority condemning Maryam for her biased statement about provinces.