Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill on Thursday filed a plea in a Lahore sessions court, seeking withdrawal of the bailable arrest warrant issued by the court a day ago in a defamation suit.

Gill, during a TV show in September last year, had accused a Turkish company M/s Platform Turizm Tasimacilik — a subsidiary of Al-Bayrak Group of companies — of signing the metro bus project with the then PML-N government on an inflated amount.

Later the same month, the company filed a defamation suit through its counsel Mian Ali Ashfaq against Gill, seeking action against him under sections 499 and 500 of the Pakistan Penal Code for levelling false allegations against the firm. It contended that the accusations hurled by the PM's aide caused a huge financial loss to the company.

Later, Gill had registered a case against the company, arguing that the documents the company officials had submitted with the defamation suit in the court were fabricated.

On Wednesday, the court had expressed displeasure over the absence of Gill's counsel in the hearing and issued bailable arrest warrants for the premier's assistant.

In its order, the court had issued arrest warrants, bailable against a surety bond of Rs.30,000, and ordered Gill to appear in person in the next hearing on Nov 1.

In the latest development, Gill filed the petition — a copy of which is available with Dawn.com — through his counsels Ahmed Saad Khan and Zain Nazir Khan, urging the court to withdraw the arrest warrants.

He also informed that he had earlier been given an exemption by the court on May 27, 2021 from personal appearance in the case.

The petition was not taken up by the court until 3pm on Thursday.