Court seeks arguments in suit against PM

LAHORE:An Additional District and Sessions Court on Monday summoned counsel of both parties for arguments by 19 December in Rs100 million defamation suit, filed by former interim Chief Minister of Punjab Najam Sethi against PTI Chairman Imran Khan for levelling false allegations against him.

Najam Sethi through his counsel had filed a defamation suit. The counsel contended that Imran Khan had alleged his client many times for fixing 35 punctures. He said Imran had not stopped accusing his client that Sethi being an interim chief minister helped in rigging 35 seats without any proof. He said his client had also sent a legal notice to Imran but he did not bother to respond. The counsel said after six months of serving a legal notice it was necessary to file a suit for defamation against Imran as he was continuously trying to malign Sethi’s reputation through his derogatory and false statements.

The counsel produced copies of newspapers in which statements of Imran Khan were published against Najam Sethi. He said his client was a well-read scholar holding a master’s degree from Cambridge University and a dignified member of the journalist community, the only journalist in the South Asia who has received three top international awards for courage and professionalism in a decade.

He said Imran’s statements were utterly preposterous and misinformed. He said Imran had a knack for accusing anyone he did not like. In the recent past, he has maligned former CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday (R) and Justice Riaz Kiyani (R) and the revered institution of judiciary especially learned sessions judges acting as returning officers accusing them of causing PTI’s defeat in the last general elections without an iota of proof, he added. Imran implied that Sethi was made caretaker chief minister to rig elections in PML-N’s favour.