LAHORE: Prime Mini­s­ter Shehbaz Sharif was cross-examined by the defence counsel in his Rs10bn defamation suit against ex-premier and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan on Saturday.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Yalmaz Ghani conducted the hearing. PM Shehbaz and his counsel Mustafa Ramday joined the proceedings via a video link.

At the outset, when def­e­nce counsel Muham­mad Hussain asked the prem­ier whether he had a copy of the suit, the latter resp­onded in negative and sou­ght some time to obtain the documents from his legal team via WhatsApp.

The judge accepted the request and adjourned the hearing for a short break.

As the hearing resumed, the defence counsel asked abo­ut the alleged audio reco­rding of late Justice Malik Muhammad Qay­um. How­ever, PM Sheh­baz’s lawyer objected, ass­erting that such a question could not be asked during the cross-examination.

Advocate Ramday further pointed out that the high court had dismissed the def­endant’s right to file a counterclaim, therefore, no questions could be asked regarding the facts stated in that counterclaim. Asking about Justice Qayum’s alleged audio recording amounted to scandalizing, he said, adding that the plaintiff was not obligated to comment on that particular recording.

The judge, however, remarked that it would be decided later whether questions about the counterclaim could be asked.

At this, the prosecution said the questions raised by the lawyer of ex-PM Khan could be addressed during final arguments.

Responding to the queries of the defence counsel, PM Shehbaz said he was unaware if Mr Khan had personally distributed posters or pamphlets against him, but he did know that baseless allegations were made against him on TV, which had a greater impact than millions of pamphlets.

The plaintiff said Mr Khan had accused former premier Nawaz Sharif of offering him a bribe of Rs10bn through his brother. He explained at the time the alleged offer was made, his brother Abbas Sharif had already passed away, thus only he himself and his brother Nawaz Sharif were alive.

In his defamation suit filed in 2017, PM Shehbaz said Imran Khan levelled baseless allegations against him. He sought a decree for recovery of Rs10bn as compensation from the defendant for publication of defamatory content.

Mr Khan in his reply to case pointed out that the suit was filed after a delay of four years in 2021, saying one of his friends had told him that someone known to him and also the Sharif family had approached him with an offer to pay billions of rupees if he could convince him (Mr Khan) to stop pursuing the Panama case.

He disclosed it for the consumption of the public at large, he claimed, adding that an act in the interest of the public good does not constitute any defamation. He maintained that he did not specifically attribute any statement to the plaintiff (PM Shehbaz) while narrating the incident.

The judge adjourned further hearing till May 24 to resume PM’s cross-examination.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2025