Speaker Malik Ahmed testifies in defamation case

LAHORE:

A session court heard Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's defamation lawsuit against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, centred on an allegation regarding the Panama Papers case.

The court recorded the statement of Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan, who appeared as a key witness for the prime minister.

Additional Sessions Judge Yalmaz Ghani heard the case. Sharif has sought Rs10 billion in damages, claiming that the accusations repeatedly aired by the PTI founder were fabricated, defamatory and intended to damage his political reputation.

Speaker Khan told the court that the allegation had first surfaced on April 8, 2017, during a television programme in which the PTI had accused Shehbaz Sharif of offering him Rs10 billion to stop pursuing the Panama Papers case.

The witness added that the allegation had been repeated on April 25, 2017 at a workers' convention in Peshawar, April 26 on a TV channel, April 27 when the same programme was re-aired and April 28, 2017 during a PTI gathering in Islamabad.

"These statements were nothing but propaganda, based on falsehood and meant to tarnish Shehbaz Sharif's reputation," the speaker testified.

Speaker Khan said the allegations had harmed the plaintiff's political standing and public image.