ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday again issued notices to Prime Minister Imran Khan in PML-N leader Khawaja Asif’s petition seeking right to cross-examine the PM in a defamation suit.
A single bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Athar Minallah issued the notices while hearing a petition of Khawaja Asif challenging the sessions court’s decision of not giving his counsel a right to present arguments in a defamation suit worth Rs10 billion filed by Prime Minister Imran Khan against him.
The bench deferred the hearing for two days and directed the respondents to submit their response in this matter.
Imran Khan had filed the defamation suit against Kh Asif in 2012 for recovery of Rs10 billion as the latter had levelled allegations of misappropriation of funds and money laundering through the SKMT funds.
The Prime Minister had submitted an affidavit last month to Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Adnan via video link against the PML-N leader for levelling allegations of non-transparency, money laundering and use of anonymous companies in the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust (SKMT) funds.
Imran Khan said in the document submitted to the court that on August 1, 2012, Kh Asif, while addressing a news conference held at the Punjab House, had alleged that Imran had indulged in money laundering or had approved the commission of the practice through the SKMT. Later on the same evening at a private TV programme, he repeated the allegations.
In his petition, the PML-N leader challenged the lower court’s verdict and cited PM Imran and the sessions court judge as respondents. Kh Asif adopted that PM Imran’s statement was recorded by the additional district and sessions judge via video link in the absence of his lawyer.
He said that his counsel had informed the sessions court that he could not appear on December 17 due to ill-health but the ADSJ recorded the premier’s statement in the absence of his counsel and the sessions court announced the verdict in haste without referring to any law.
He prayed the IHC bench to annul the decision of lower court of terminating his right to cross-examination.