PESHAWAR: A local court on Saturday issued a notice to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Amin Khan, seeking his response to a defamation suit filed against him by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s two brothers for falsely accusing them of corruption in a TV show.

Additional district and sessions judge Alamgir Shah held a preliminary hearing into the petition jointly filed by MNA Faisal Amin Khan Faisal Amin and his brother and mayor of Dera Ismail Khan City Council Umar Amin Khan, seeking Rs500 million damages from the governor under the Defamation Ordinance, 2002.

The court fixed Oct 29 for the next hearing into the case.

The plaintiffs also named a private news channel and its anchor, who conducted the governor’s interview in question, the defendants in the suit.

CM’s brothers claim baseless corruption allegations levelled against them

They requested the court to ask those defendants to tender a proper apology over the allegations, complaining they have not been contacted for a version.

They also claimed appropriate “general damages and compensatory costs” from the TV channel and the anchor.

Advocate Ali Azim Afridi appeared for the plaintiffs and said the plaintiffs’ family, including their brother and KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, had a good reputation and was elected to the national and provincial assemblies several times.

He said the plaintiffs were politically engaged and actively involved in politics as a family.

The lawyer said Faisal Amin remained MPA from 2018 to 2023 and also served as the provincial local government minister.

He said that on Aug 31, 2024, a programme was aired by that news channel in which Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, who lost the 2024 general election to Ali Amin Gandapur, “attributed corruption and corrupt practices in the province to the plaintiffs because of their relation with Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.”

The counsel contended that attributing false and concocted stories, promoting narrative of corruption against plaintiffs without any proof or seeking their viewpoint was tantamount to damaging their reputation and political repute and lowering the same in the people’s eyes.

He added that the TV programme was also shared on YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms.

The lawyer said that legal notices were served on the defendants on Sept 4, 2024, seeking an unconditional apology and payment of Rs500 million compensation to plaintiffs from the governor, with a warning of legal action in case of noncompliance, but the governor failed to do so.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2024