LAHORE: The Punjab Defamation Tribunal on Tuesday ruled in favour of Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari in a defamation suit against Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Moeen Riaz Qureshi, ordering him to pay Rs3 million in general damages.

In January, Bokhari filed the defamation suit against Qureshi seeking damages of Rs800 million. She filed the claim against the opposition leader, alleging that he made “baseless and fabricated” accusations against her.

In a short order issued on Tuesday, the tribunal said that the counsel for both parties had concluded their final arguments.

“The claim of the plaintiff is hereby decreed up to the extent of general damages amounting to Rupees three million (Rs3,000,000),” said tribunal member Anjum Raza Syed.

However, the tribunal dismissed the minister’s claim for special and punitive damages.

Meanwhile, the PTI said in its statement that its MPA was told to pay Rs84m in damages.

Bokhari’s counsel argued that the defendant, Qureshi, had acknowledged making the remarks in question during a television programme but had failed to produce any evidence to substantiate the allegations.

The tribunal said a detailed judgment would be issued separately.

The information minister had filed the suit following allegations Qureshi levelled at the time of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s then-chief minister Sohail Afridi’s visit to the Punjab Assembly.

He had alleged that the provincial minister got 200 paid individuals into the assembly premises, and that the journalists who put questions to Afridi were her salaried employees.

‘Attempt to respond to criticism with fines’

Commenting on the verdict, Qureshi wrote on X: “The voice I raise in favour of the people’s rights, the supremacy of the Constitution, and Imran Khan cannot be silenced.”

He asserted that as the opposition leader, his duty was “not to flatter those in power but to question them, defend the rights of the people, and stand firm against every undemocratic action”.

“Remember! Dissent is the strength of democracy, not its weakness. Attempting to respond to criticism with fines cannot prove any stance wrong.”

In its statement, the PTI expressed its deep concern over the verdict, assailing the Punjab government for being “unwilling to tolerate even political criticism and dissent”.

It contended that the PML-N introduced the Punjab Defamation Act 2024 and used its majority to turn it into law, which it has now employed.

Noting that Qureshi had been attempting to present a resolution in the Punjab Assembly against the imposition of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PTI said the emergence of the verdict “raises questions about its timing and political implications”.