SCREEN GRAB of Mubasher Lucman during his programme Khara Sach
ISLAMABAD: A sessions court on Thursday issued bailable arrest warrants for TV anchor Mubasher Luqman after he failed to appear before the court to face a defamation suit.
Luqman is facing a criminal case for allegedly ridiculing and defaming Geo and Jang Group in his TV programme ‘Khara Sach’, which he used to host on ARY News.
Sabir Shakir and Arif Hameed Bhatti, ARY’s bureau chiefs in Islamabad and Lahore respectively, are also facing the charge along with the TV channel’s CEO Salman Iqbal.
Islamabad additional district and sessions judge (west) Syed Faizan Haider Shah issued the warrants for Luqman after he failed to appear when the court took up the case on Thursday.
Both Shakir and Bhatti were present in the court, while Iqbal was exempted from personal appearance since his application challenging the case against himself is pending with the Islamabad High Court.
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Independent Media Corporation and Independent Newspapers Corporation had filed the criminal case in February 2014.
Prosecution counsel Amir Abdullah told The Express Tribune that Luqman defamed Jang and Geo in his programme aired in December 2013, saying the media group was traitor and enemy of the country.
He said the court had also issued arrest warrants for all four suspects in May 2014, following which the suspects obtained pre-arrest bails against surety bonds of Rs50,000 each.
Maximum punishment for defamation under the Pakistan Penal Code is two years imprisonment or fine or both. The court will now take up the case on September 28.
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