LAHORE: The sessions court Monday resumed the hearing of the Rs10 billion defamation suit filed by Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan.
As the hearing went underway, Khan’s counsel challenged the case on grounds that the case is not within the jurisdiction of the court. The lawyer asked the court to extend the date of the hearing of the case. However, the court refused to concede to the request.
The court was then adjourned until October 19.
In the previous hearing on September 25, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was directed to submit his response in the Rs 10 billion defamation suit filed against him by the Punjab chief minister until October 9.
On April 25, Khan, during a gathering at Shaukat Khanum Hospital, Lahore, alleged that he had been made an offer regarding the Panama case.
In an interview televised following the statement, Khan refused to reveal the name of the person who made the offer but did state that this person was close to the Punjab chief minister.
Subsequently, the Punjab CM filed a case in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Azfar Sultan under Section 4 (defamation actionable) and 9 (remedies) of Defamation Ordinance, 2002.
The case was filed through Shehbaz Sharif’s counsel Mustafa Ramday against Imran Khan for alleging that he was offered Rs10 billion by a close associate of the chief minister to stop pursuing the Panama Papers case. The petition stated, “the facts and circumstances giving rise to the filing of the instant suit are that since the last week of April 2017, the defendant [Imran Khan] started uttering, spreading and resorting to the publication, communication, and circulation of maliciously false, baseless and unfounded oral statements and representations against the plaintiff [Shehbaz].”
Moreover, it added that Imran claimed Shehbaz “offered to pay a sum of Rs 10,000,000,000 to the defendant in exchange for his withdrawing/backing-off from, or remaining silent on the issue of the Panama Papers case”.
Imran has only two Choices! 1) Either you step up and name the person who offered the money to keep quiet.2) Or offer unconditional apology.. One does not og around indulging in slander without being confronted.
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