PM appears in Rs10 billion defamation case against Imran Khan

Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday made an appearance before a Lahore court in his Rs10 billion defamation lawsuit against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former premier Imran Khan.

According to the details, PM Shehbaz appeared through video link before a sessions court as Additional Sessions Judge Yilmaz Ghani conducted the hearing.

As proceedings continued, the premier took an oath to “speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”. He also read out the part that said if he concealed anything, may Allah be displeased with him.

During cross-examination, Khan’s lawyer Advocate Muhammad Hussain Chotya asked the PM if he had a copy of the defamation suit before him. “No, I do not have a copy of the defamation case with me at the moment,” the premier replied.

PM Shehbaz then requested a short break, saying, “Please allow me a brief moment… my legal team is sending over a copy.”

The court accepted the request and granted a short recess.

The defamation suit to the tune of Rs10 billion was filed by PM Shehbaz over what he says were false and damaging statements made by Imran Khan. It stems from Khan’s claims that in 2017, Shehbaz had offered him Rs10 billion through an intermediary to drop the Panama Papers case.

The premier had during an earlier appearance in April also responded to questions posed by the defence counsel. He had acknowledged that while the statements were made during televised programs, no media personnel or TV channels were named as parties in the lawsuit.

PM Shehbaz had said he could not recall which city the programs were aired from nor did he confirm any direct confrontation with the former PTI chairman regarding the allegations.

Shehbaz had also verified that he personally signed the lawsuit and that an oath commissioner validated the filing. He had admitted to uncertainty over whether he was the president of the PML-N at the time of the alleged incident but confirmed that Khan was the head of his party and a political rival during that period.