CM’s brother withdraws defamation suit

PESHAWAR: Member National Assembly (MNA) and brother of the chief minister Faisal Amin Gandapur on Friday withdrew a defamation suit worth Rs100 million against defence analyst Brigadier (Retd) Mahmood Shah and others.

Following the withdrawal, Additional District and Sessions Judge Shah Sultan Durrani disposed of the case and issued a written order.

According to the court order, both parties appeared before the court, and Faisal Amin’s lawyer submitted an application to withdraw the suit. The court recorded the statement of the petitioner’s counsel, who informed the court that his client did not wish to pursue the case.

Brigadier (R) Mahmood Shah was represented by Tariq Afghan Advocate during the proceedings.Faisal Amin had filed the defamation suit, claiming that Mahmood Shah, during a talk show on a private news channel, had accused the Gandapur tribe of facilitating terrorists. The plaintiff argued that this statement damaged his and his tribe’s reputation.

In his defence, Brigadier (R) Mahmood Shah submitted a response through his counsel, stating that his remarks in the talk show were about the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Gandapur Group and not about any individual or tribe. He further argued that the existence of the group had been previously reported in newspapers and press releases of the security agencies, making the case inadmissible.