Punjab CM all set to file damages suit against Imran over Rs10 billion bribe claim
Shehbaz Sharif will claim from PTI chief Rs10b in damages for allegedly lying and defaming him
In a file photo Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif addresses media outside the Federal Judicial Academy. PHOTO: ONLINE
ISLAMABAD:
Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to file a defamation suit in an Islamabad court against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan over his claim that the PML-N government had offered him Rs10 billion to stay mum on the Panama leaks.
“The draft for the defamation suit has been prepared and it is likely to be filed in the sessions court today (Friday),” a senior official in the Punjab government told The Express Tribune. “The chief minister has engaged Punjab’s former advocate general Mustafa Ramday to plead the case.”
“The Punjab CM will claim Rs10 billion in damages for allegedly lying and defaming his reputation,” he added.
Defamation suit against Imran on the cards
Earlier, in May, Shehbaz through Advocate Khwaja Haris Ahmed had served a notice on Imran under Section 8 of the Defamation Ordinance, 2002.
“Since the last week of April 2017, you [Imran] have been uttering/spreading and resorting to the publication and circulation, directly and/or by way of innuendos, maliciously false, baseless and unfounded statements and representations against my client to the effect that he had offered you a sum of Rs10 billion in lieu of your withdrawing/backing off from the Panamagate case,” the notice reads.
The notice added that “apart from causing irreparable damage to Shehbaz’s reputation, this [defamation by Imran] has caused him severe mental agony, pain and torture.”
Hamza Shehbaz serves defamation notice to Imran Khan
Further, if within 14 days of the receipt of the legal notice, Imran doesn’t tender a proper apology to Shehbaz “and gets the same published through print and electronic media in the same manner and with the same prominence as the publication of the defamatory statement and representation,” legal action will be taken against him for recovery of Rs10 billion as damages under the Ordinance on account of defamation committed by the PTI chief.
However, it is learnt that the PTI chief did not respond to the chief minister’s defamation notice up till now.
Interestingly, this is not the first damages suit to be filed against Imran as a few other important figures, including former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and senior journalist Najam Sethi are already into litigation against the PTI chief for his ‘slanderous remarks’ against them. However, decisions on these cases are pending.
Similarly, some PTI and PML-N leaders have been pursuing damages suits against each other in the Islamabad district courts since the last general elections. Imran had moved a defamation case against Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif. PTI General Secretary Jahangir Tareen had also filed Rs30 billion damages suit against the Punjab chief minister over the allegation that he had his loans written off.
Imran’s PTI is hit with double whammy
Legal experts believe that defamation laws are ineffective in Pakistan as there is hardly any case where a verdict could be rendered against a politician for levelling baseless allegations against his rival.
Former Pakistan Bar Council vice chairman Farogh Nasim says the courts don’t give priority to defamation matters due to pendency of cases of different nature. He believes special judges should be deputed to decide such matters.
Another PBC executive member Raheel Kamran Sheikh believes that plaintiffs in defamation cases don’t take the proceedings seriously after filing their cases. “The petitioners use damages suits as ‘deterrence’ against their rivals.”
Sheikh also contends that if the courts pass verdicts against politicians in defamation cases, then their implications can be dreadful for them as they could be disqualified on the basis of courts’ findings.
“Under the law, the courts are bound to adjudicate damages suit within six months but unfortunately, this is not happening in the country.”
Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to file a defamation suit in an Islamabad court against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan over his claim that the PML-N government had offered him Rs10 billion to stay mum on the Panama leaks.
“The draft for the defamation suit has been prepared and it is likely to be filed in the sessions court today (Friday),” a senior official in the Punjab government told The Express Tribune. “The chief minister has engaged Punjab’s former advocate general Mustafa Ramday to plead the case.”
“The Punjab CM will claim Rs10 billion in damages for allegedly lying and defaming his reputation,” he added.
Defamation suit against Imran on the cards
Earlier, in May, Shehbaz through Advocate Khwaja Haris Ahmed had served a notice on Imran under Section 8 of the Defamation Ordinance, 2002.
“Since the last week of April 2017, you [Imran] have been uttering/spreading and resorting to the publication and circulation, directly and/or by way of innuendos, maliciously false, baseless and unfounded statements and representations against my client to the effect that he had offered you a sum of Rs10 billion in lieu of your withdrawing/backing off from the Panamagate case,” the notice reads.
The notice added that “apart from causing irreparable damage to Shehbaz’s reputation, this [defamation by Imran] has caused him severe mental agony, pain and torture.”
Hamza Shehbaz serves defamation notice to Imran Khan
Further, if within 14 days of the receipt of the legal notice, Imran doesn’t tender a proper apology to Shehbaz “and gets the same published through print and electronic media in the same manner and with the same prominence as the publication of the defamatory statement and representation,” legal action will be taken against him for recovery of Rs10 billion as damages under the Ordinance on account of defamation committed by the PTI chief.
However, it is learnt that the PTI chief did not respond to the chief minister’s defamation notice up till now.
Interestingly, this is not the first damages suit to be filed against Imran as a few other important figures, including former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and senior journalist Najam Sethi are already into litigation against the PTI chief for his ‘slanderous remarks’ against them. However, decisions on these cases are pending.
Similarly, some PTI and PML-N leaders have been pursuing damages suits against each other in the Islamabad district courts since the last general elections. Imran had moved a defamation case against Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif. PTI General Secretary Jahangir Tareen had also filed Rs30 billion damages suit against the Punjab chief minister over the allegation that he had his loans written off.
Imran’s PTI is hit with double whammy
Legal experts believe that defamation laws are ineffective in Pakistan as there is hardly any case where a verdict could be rendered against a politician for levelling baseless allegations against his rival.
Former Pakistan Bar Council vice chairman Farogh Nasim says the courts don’t give priority to defamation matters due to pendency of cases of different nature. He believes special judges should be deputed to decide such matters.
Another PBC executive member Raheel Kamran Sheikh believes that plaintiffs in defamation cases don’t take the proceedings seriously after filing their cases. “The petitioners use damages suits as ‘deterrence’ against their rivals.”
Sheikh also contends that if the courts pass verdicts against politicians in defamation cases, then their implications can be dreadful for them as they could be disqualified on the basis of courts’ findings.
“Under the law, the courts are bound to adjudicate damages suit within six months but unfortunately, this is not happening in the country.”