ISLAMABAD: Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Azam Khan Swati on Monday announced he would file a Rs1 billion libel suit against Hafeezullah Niazi and Geo TV for levelling and airing allegations of fraud against him in a talk-show on July 6.
“I challenge Niazi to prove a single case against me during my 45-year stay in the United States of America, or tender an apology in the same TV show,” he said while addressing a news conference here.
He said Niazi had claimed during the talk show that there was an insurance fraud case against him in the US which had no reality at all.
“I am going to file Rs one billion defamation suit against Niazi and Geo News. Now, Niazi will have to prove his stance in the US,” he said requesting the TV to abstain from hosting the analyst until he produced evidence against his assertion, or tendered an apology.
Swati said he had already filed a complaint with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) against Geo News.
He said he had stayed in the US from 1978 to 2001 and gave up his US citizenship in 1996. He claimed that he was the first Pakistani who had given up his dual nationality in order to serve his country.
He said the fabricated story of Niazi had hurt the sentiments of his family, friends and followers that required an immediate apology from the analyst.
Swati said free and fair journalism was a stepping stone of democracy, but the dissemination of false information did not serve the democratic process in a country.
Pakistan’s laws and religion did not allow anyone to spread false information as it damaged the respect and dignity of a person.
