ISLAMABAD: A local court has decreed a defamation suit filed by Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal against former federal minister Murad Saeed, directing the latter to pay Rs2.5 million as damages over unsubstantiated allegations of corruption linked to the Multan-Sukkur Motorway project.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Hakem Khan, in a detailed judgement, held that Mr Saeed had failed to substantiate his allegations that Ahsan Iqbal was involved in corruption amounting to Rs70 billion in the motorway project. The judge observed that the accusations had tarnished the minister’s reputation and constituted defamation.

The court ruled that the allegations of corruption, misuse of authority and receiving illegal commissions were not backed by any evidence and had caused damage to Mr Iqbal’s honour, dignity and public standing.

The court noted that despite being afforded opportunities during the proceedings, Mr Saeed neither appeared before the court nor produced any documentary or oral evidence in support of his claims.

Mr Iqbal had instituted the defamation suit after Mr Saeed, then serving as federal minister, accused him during a 2019 press conference of committing corruption worth Rs70 billion in the Multan-Sukkur Motorway project.

The plaintiff had sought Rs10 billion in damages, arguing that the allegations had seriously harmed his personal and political reputation. However, the court observed that the amount claimed was excessive in light of the evidence placed on record. While accepting the suit on merit, it awarded Rs2.5 million as compensation, holding that the proven injury to the plaintiff’s reputation warranted monetary damages but not to the extent claimed.

The judgement concluded that the defendant’s failure to establish the truth of the allegations left the defamatory statements unsupported, making him liable for compensation for the reputational harm suffered by the plaintiff.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2026