Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday appeared before a Lahore court via video link and was cross-examined by counsel representing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in a defamation case concerning a Rs10 billion damages claim.
The proceedings took place at the Sessions Court Lahore, where Additional Sessions Judge Yilmaz Ghani is hearing the suit filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against the former premier.
During the hearing, Imran Khan’s counsel, Mian Muhammad Hussain, cross-examined the Prime Minister for the first time in the ongoing case.
At the outset, PM Shehbaz took an oath and affirmed that he would speak the truth. He informed the court that his legal counsel was present with him during the video link session, and also acknowledged that the opposing counsel was not physically present at his location.
During the cross-examination, Shehbaz Sharif said he had personally signed the defamation claim filed against the PTI founder, adding that all necessary legal procedures were followed by the cabinet prior to forwarding the matter to the President for approval.
When asked whether he had read the relevant defamation laws before initiating the lawsuit, the Prime Minister responded that he could not recall.
He further stated that the stamp paper for the claim was arranged through his lawyer’s agent and verified by an oath commissioner who visited him in Model Town, although he could not remember the commissioner’s name or the specific time of the verification.
In response to several questions by Khan’s lawyer, Shehbaz Sharif admitted that the PTI founder never made the alleged offer to him in person.
He confirmed that he had filed the suit before a district judge, but not in the district court, and that no media organisation or its employees were made a party to the case, despite the fact that the allegation was aired on two television channels.
“I don’t know from which city these TV programmes were broadcast,” PM Shehbaz said, adding that he did not verify this detail prior to filing the lawsuit.
When asked if he was aware of whether Imran Khan owned or was employed by the two channels in question, Shehbaz said he had no knowledge in this regard. He maintained that Khan had repeatedly made the “absurd” allegation in televised interviews.
PM Shehbaz also admitted that he was associated with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in 2017 when the accusation was made, though he was unsure whether he held the position of party president at the time. “It is true that the PTI founder has always been a political rival of the PML-N,” he said.
At one point during the proceedings, Imran Khan’s counsel questioned whether the Additional Sessions Judge had the jurisdiction to hear the case and record witness testimonies.
This was objected to by Shehbaz Sharif’s counsel, Advocate Mustafa Ramday, who said the matter had already been legally settled. The judge nonetheless asked Shehbaz Sharif if he wished to respond, to which he stated that the judge did have such authority.
The hearing was briefly disrupted due to a power outage, causing a temporary suspension of the video link.
The court later adjourned further cross-examination until April 25.
The defamation case stems from a 2017 allegation made by Imran Khan, in which he claimed that Shehbaz Sharif had offered him Rs10 billion to withdraw the Panama Papers case. Shehbaz Sharif, then the Chief Minister of Punjab, had strongly denied the claim and filed a defamation suit against Khan, seeking damages.
