LHC says Imran Khan’s plea in PM Shehbaz defamation suit inadmissible for hearing
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The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday threw out the review petition filed by former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan in a defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against him for the payment of Rs10 billion in damages, saying it was inadmissible for the hearing, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The court upheld the trial court’s decision to summon witnesses in the case for questioning and not to order the prime minister to appear in person.
Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal pronounced the verdict.
The LHC on Monday reserved its verdict on the admissibility of Imran's plea in which the former prime minister had argued that the trial court's decision to permit written testimony in the case was contrary to the facts.
He had requested that witnesses testify in person in the courtroom. Imran’s legal team urged the LHC to annul the court’s decision.
Following the hearing, Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal reserved his decision on whether Khan's appeal was admissible.
In the suit, filed by Shehbaz against Imran in 2017, who was then an opposition leader, he had accused the latter of making defamatory statements about him that he had offered him Rs10 billion through a common friend in exchange for withdrawing from the Panama Papers case, which was then pending before the Supreme Court.
Reporter: Malik Ashraf