Dr Ijaz lodges counter defamation case against Reham

LONDON: Reham Khan’s ex-husband Dr Ijaz Rehman has lodged a counter defamation case against his former wife alleging that he has been defamed repeatedly on false grounds.

Rehman sent a legal letter to Reham Khan through his solicitor Rashad Aslam after Reham Khan threatened to sue him for being involved in a willful, malicious and hostile campaign against her to the extent that it negatively affected her marriage with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and “ended in divorce”.

Barrister Rashad Aslam, while issuing legal claim on behalf of Dr Ijaz Rehman, said that his client’s life had been made difficult because Reham Khan’s lawyer had disclosed the phone number and email address of Dr Rehman.

“Our client has submitted that he has been harassed over the phone. This in turn has made him suffer great deal of anxiety and stress. We seek a valid justification for this act as this action is a clear breach of privacy and confidentiality.”

The letter said that Reham Khan had defamed Dr Rehman in a TV interview on the first day of her wedding and labelled him a “wife beater”.

“Our client has provided an unblemished service as a consultant psychiatrist for 20 years and the stigma hereafter labelled him as a wife beater resulted in our client’s Line Manager to remove him from the work. Considering it resulted in our client an economic loss due to loss of employment as a direct consequence of the allegations, it also accumulated to a mental psychological damage and loss of personal health. He had to consult a G.P on regular basis and had to take professional assistance.”

The letter said that the “threat of legal action of £10,00,000.00 are groundless” because there was a cap on defamatory damages.

The letter demanded that the ARY broadcast which defamed and lebelled Dr Ijaz Reham must be removed from all social media and online sites.

It further demanded “apology, in form to be agreed, and published on the within 14 days; an undertaking from you not to repeat any of the allegations complained of; damages; and reimbursement of our client’s legal costs.”

Barrister Aslam said that Dr Rehman intended to go ahead with the case at the civil courts in London. He said that he has already launched a case against the broadcaster with Ofcom – the media regulator in the UK.

The row between Dr Rehman and her former wife started when Reham Khan claimed in an interview, in which Imran Khan was also present, that she was subjected to “domestic violence” in her marriage with Dr Ijaz Rehman.

Dr Rehman, a senior NHS consultant, has maintained that he has never been involved in domestic violence and that his fair name was tarnished all over the world.

Reham Khan has said that she has stated facts only and didn’t mean to hurt or libel her first husband.