PM Shehbaz’s virtual court appearance interrupted by electricity outage

The hearingfor a high-profile Rs10 billion defamation case filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan, was temporarily suspended due to a power failure at Lahore's sessions court.

The Prime Minister appeared via video link for hearing conducted by an additional sessions judge. However, the cross-examination was abruptly halted due to a power outage, Express News reported.

Earlier during the hearing, Imran Khan's lawyer, Mian Muhammad Hussain Chotya, cross-examined the prime minister, who took an oath before testifying.

"I will speak the truth and not make any false statements," Sharif stated.

During questioning, Khan’s lawyer asked if Sharif accept that his lawsuit was not filed in a district court but with a district judge, to which Sharif's lawyer interjected arguing that the matter had already been settled.

Imran's counsel pressed further, noting that no media house was made a party in the case.

Sharif confirmed this, adding that the defamatory statements were repeatedly aired on television.

When asked if the allegations were made face-to-face, Sharif replied, “This vile accusation was repeated on TV multiple times.”

At one point, Imran's lawyer asked if he could question in Punjabi, to which Sharif replied, “You’re welcome to.”

Khan’s lawyer also questioned whether the TV programmes in which the accusations were made aired from Islamabad. Sharif responded that he was unaware of the broadcast origin.

The cross-examination came to an abrupt stop when the electricity went out during Sharif’s video appearance, halting proceedings.

The prime minister clarified that his legal team did not name any media outlet, employee, or official as respondents in the case.

He acknowledged that he had described Khan as a political rival in paragraph 3 of the claim but denied that political rivalry justified exchanging defamatory statements.

Sharif’s counsel, Mustafa Ramday, objected to some legal questions posed by Imran Khan’s lawyer, particularly regarding the court’s jurisdiction and the role of the Additional District Judge in hearing the case.

The judge overruled the objection and asked Sharif directly whether he wished to respond. Sharif said it was incorrect to claim that an Additional District Judge could not preside over such a matter or record evidence.

The hearing was later adjourned until April 25 at 9:00 AM, when cross-examination is expected to resume.