Shaukat denies making allegation against Asfandyar

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former provincial minister Shaukat Yousafzai on Monday recorded his statement in the defamation case filed against him by Awami National Party (ANP) senior leader Asfandyar Wali Khan.

The PTI leader recorded his statement before Additional District and Sessions Judge Liaqat Ali Khan.Shaukat Yousafzai clarified that he personally did not make any allegations against Asfandyar Wali Khan, adding that the accusations were originally made by the late ANP leader Azam Khan Hoti, who had also served as former federal minister.

The PTI leader maintained that he merely cited Azam Khan Hoti’s statements that he had made during a press conference, where Hoti had repeatedly accused Asfandyar Wali Khan of “selling out Pashtuns in America”.

He said that the late ANP leader had repeated these allegations during multiple press conferences and television interviews.Shaukat Yousafzai said that he respected Asfandyar Wali Khan as a senior political leader and clarified that the allegations were an internal matter of ANP.

“If Asfandyar Wali Khan had wished to take legal action, it should have been directed at Azam Hoti when he was alive,” Yousafzai argued, adding that his comments were only a reference to Hoti’s statements.Shaukat Yousafzai appeared before the court along with his counsel Farhan Khan Advocate. After recording the statement, the court adjourned the proceedings for November 30.