Defamation case: Shaukat Yousafzai ordered to pay Rs150m to Asfandyar Wali

PESHAWAR: Additional District and Sessions Judge Ijazur Rahman Qazi, on Monday ordered the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and provincial minister Shaukat Yousafzai to pay Rs150 million in damages to Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan.

The court issued a verdict spanning five pages in a defamation case filed by the ANP chief.

During the proceedings, Asfandyar Wali’s lawyers including Tariq Afghan and Sajid Afridi, apprised the court of Wali’s political background, highlighting his roles as a former member of the provincial and national assemblies, as well as his tenure as a senator.

They referenced an incident on July 25, 2019, when opposition parties organised a rally near the Peshawar Motorway Interchange.

Subsequently, PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai, the then provincial information minister, held a press conference where he made “baseless” allegations against Asfandyar Wali, claiming he had “sold Pashtuns for 25 million dollars.”

The lawyers emphasized that Wali was the son of ANP founder Abdul Wali Khan and the grandson of Khudai Khidmatgar head Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Bacha Khan), who had been instrumental in the struggle for freedom from the British rule and had offered significant sacrifices therein.

They argued that Shaukat Yousafzai’s statement was aimed at tarnishing Asfandyar Wali’s public image.

In its judgment, the court noted that the petitioner produced six witnesses and substantial evidence in his favour, while the other party came up with only one witness.

Despite repeated notices, the defence failed to produce additional witnesses and did not appear in court as required, prompting the court to take a one-sided action.

Based on the evidence produced, the court found the former provincial minister guilty of defamation against Asfandyar Wali and ordered Shaukat Yousafzai to pay Rs150 million in damages to him.

Shaukat Yousafzai had made a statement against Asfandyar Wali in 2019 when he was serving as provincial information minister. The ANP chief had served a defamation notice on Shaukat Yousafzai.

The notice, filed by the late senior lawyer Abdul Latif Afridi, had demanded that the provincial minister publicly apologize and ensure the publication of the apology with equal prominence as the alleged defamatory comments; failure to comply within 14 days would result in Asfandyar pursuing legal action against him in a criminal court.

The notice was issued under Section 8 of the Defamation Ordinance 2002, urging the minister to retract his statement.

It had said if Shaukat failed to do so, Asfandyar would reserve the right to file a defamation lawsuit to seek damages.