The Supreme Court of Pakistan has halted the proceedings in the Rs10 billion defamation case brought by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan. A three-member bench, led by Justice Ayesha Malik, reviewed the petitions submitted by Imran Khan and issued a notice to PM Shehbaz, instructing him to respond.
Senator Barrister Ali Zafar, representing Imran, argued in court that his client was unable to attend the trial due to an injury sustained from a gunshot to the leg during an assassination attempt on the former premier in November 2022. Zafar highlighted that despite acknowledging Imran's injury, the trial court had denied his right to defend himself and had started recording evidence and witness testimonies.
Justice Malik expressed concern over how the trial court could deny the right to defense despite recognizing Imran's injury. The court directed the office to schedule the review petitions for an expedited hearing.
Imran had lodged review petitions after the trial court had barred his defense, a decision upheld by the Lahore High Court and confirmed by the Supreme Court on February 21, 2023.
The defamation suit, filed by PM Shehbaz in 2017, accused the PTI founder of making unfounded allegations against him. Shehbaz sought Rs10 billion in compensation for the publication of defamatory content, alleging that Imran falsely claimed Shehbaz offered him Rs10 billion through a mutual acquaintance in exchange for dropping the Panama Papers case.
Imran argued in response that he had disclosed the incident in the public interest and that his actions did not constitute defamation. He maintained that he did not directly attribute any statement to PM Shehbaz while recounting the incident.
The trial court, in an order dated October 20, 2022, rejected Imran's objections regarding the rejection of PM Shehbaz's written questions and instructed Imran to provide his answers. Subsequently, on November 24, 2022, the trial court revoked Imran's right to defense for failing to submit the requested answers.
