Islamabad:
The defamation case presented by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has reached the Supreme Court. In the case, Khan has presented a request that defies the jurisdiction of the Court Hearing.
In the statement, the founder of PTI requested that the Apex court suspend the procedures in the case of defamation until a decision is made on their appeal. He argues that, according to the law, only a district court and sessions have the authority to listen to such defamation matters.
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The petition also challenges the jurisdiction of the additional sessions judge, whose decision was previously confirmed by the Superior Court of Lahore. Khan’s legal team has asked the Supreme Court to annul the orders issued by both the additional sessions and by the Superior Court of Lahore.
In addition, the petition urges the Apex court to stop any additional procedure in the case until the appeal is decided.
2017 defamation suit
In 2017, Prime Minister Shehbaz filed a claim for defamation against the then leader of the opposition Imran Khan, accusing him of making defamatory statements that damaged his reputation and mental well -being.
Sharif’s defamation claim is derived from Khan’s accusations that Sharif offered him RS10 billion through a common friend in exchange for withdrawing from the case of Panama’s papers, which was later pending before the Supreme Court.
According to the lawsuit, these statements “without foundation and malicious” were widely distributed by the media, damaging the public image of Sharif and causing “extreme mental torture, agony and anxiety.”
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Sharif’s legal team has asked the Court to issue a decree for the recovery of RS10 billion in compensation for the defamation and damage caused by the statements. The prime minister argues that the accusations were false and caused significant reputation damage.
In response, Khan presented an answer in 2021, claiming that the information had transmitted the information, which had supposedly been contacted by a member of the Sharif family with an offer to stop pursuing the case of Panama.
Khan declared that he revealed the incident in public interest and argued that his statement did not specifically attribute any part of the accusation to Sharif.
