LAHORE:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stated that former prime minister Imran Khan’s allegation that he offered the Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf founder a bribe for withdrawing the Panama Papers’ case was purely absurd and baseless.
“Imran Khan did not make these accusations in front of me but on TV shows,” Shehbaz said via video link during his cross examination by a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf counsel in a district court. The court was hearing a defamation suit of Rs10 billion that Shehbaz filed against Imran Khan for “tarnishing his image”.
During the cross examination, a power outage occurred, halting the court proceedings and disconnecting the video link connection for a few minutes.
As the proceedings commenced, Sharif told the court in reply to a question of PTI’s counsel Mian Muhammad Hussain that he had personally signed the defamation suit and all necessary legal procedures were followed by the cabinet prior to forwarding the matter to the President for approval.
When asked whether he had read the relevant defamation laws before initiating this suit, the PM said he could not recall.
He further stated that the stamp paper for the suit was arranged through his lawyer’s agent and was verified by an oath commissioner who had visited him in Model Town.
He said he could not remember the commissioner’s name or the specific time and day of the verification.
The PM’s counsel objected when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s counsel asked Shehbaz whether it is true that the defamation suit was filed before the district judge not before the district court.
As the PM said it is true that he had filed this suit before a district judge not before the district court, the PM’s counsel said that this constitutional point about district judge or district court had already been decided by the judge.
He said he did not make any media organization, its employees and any officer a party in the case. He maintained that Imran Khan had repeatedly made these allegations in television interviews.
PM Shehbaz also admitted that he was associated with the PML-N in 2017 when the accusations were made, but he is not sure which position of party he held at that time.
“It is true that the PTI founder has always been a political rival of the PML-N,” he further said.
Mustafa Ramday counsel for Shehbaz objected when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s counsel asked the PM if it was true that the present judge as additional sessions judge had no authority to preside over this proceeding.
The judge asked Shehbaz Sharif if he wished to respond, to which he stated that the judge has the authority.
However, the judge adjourned the matter till April 25 for further proceedings.
