Defamation case: Shehbaz’s lawyer asked to offer arguments

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of a petition moved by the PTI Chairman Imran Khan seeking restoration of his right to reply in a defamation suit filed against him by the PMLN President Shehbaz Sharif.

The court was adjourned, directing the counsel of Shehbaz to come up with arguments, and observed that Imran was given multiple chances by the trial court to submit his reply but he didn’t do so.

Previously, the Sessions Court had closed Imran Khan’s right to respond or oppose after he failed to respond in time to the objections. Shehbaz Sharif had asked the court to block Imran’s right to file his written statement because of “inordinate delay” on the part of the PTI chief through “unnecessary adjournments”.

As per details, the defamation suit filed in 2017, alleged that the defendant PTI Chairman Imran Khan uttered false and malicious statements against the plaintiff (Shehbaz) that the latter had offered Rs10bn to the former through a common friend in exchange for withdrawing the Panama Papers’ case pending before the Supreme Court.

Shehbaz pleaded that had Imran made “baseless and defamatory statements” widely circulated by the media, denting hit integrity and causing “extreme mental torture, agony and anxiety”.

The court was requested to issue a decree for recovering Rs10bn as compensation for the publication of defamatory content in favour of the plaintiff Shehbaz Sharif.