Court seeks arguments over Gill plea to stop defamation suit

LAHORE: An additional district and sessions court Saturday sought arguments on an application, moved by Shahbaz Gill, special assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on political communications, in a defamation suit of a company that had sought action against him for allegedly levelling false allegations.

Gill’s counsel contended before the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Zulfiqar Ali that the suit, filed against his client was based on false allegations. He prayed the court to stop proceedings against him in alleged false suit. H also submitted an application seeking exemption from personal appearance from the next date, on which the judge reserved a decision. The court sought arguments and adjourned the hearing till Jan 30. Strict security arrangements were taken outside the court premises. No litigants were allowed to enter the court room.

Talking to the media, Shahbaz Gill said the allegations levelled against him in the company’s suit had nothing to do with reality, adding that everyone knows the suit filed against him is purely a false one. The defamation suit against Gill was filed by Platform Tourism Company, an entity under the umbrella of Albayrak Group.

The petition stated that Albayrak is doing construction, waste management and transport business in Pakistan, Somalia and other countries. The petition said that Albayrak Group had introduced an 18-meter-long metro bus in Pakistan, which is better than normal bus. However, Shahbaz Gill made a statement against the petitioner on Sept 26, 2020, in a TV programme, alleging the petitioner had signed the metro bus project with the Pakistani government for $3.68 per kilometre rate, out of which Suleman Shahbaz, a son of PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, was paid $1.85 per kilometre as bribe. The petitioner stated that the allegations of corruption were false and baseless. It stated that Shahbaz Gill had accused the company of indulging in corruption without any evidence, thus affecting its repute. It claimed that due to Gill’s campaign against the company, it had lost millions of dollars.