KARACHI – Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) has served a legal notice on former Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Shabbar Zaidi, demanding Rs1 billion in damages over allegations that the party was paid to suppress public protests, according to the party.
The notice was issued on July 27 by Advocate Tahir Iqbal Malik on the instructions of JI Karachi General Secretary Taufiquddin Siddiqui, the party said.
When contacted for his response on Tuesday, Zaidi said he had forwarded the legal notice to his lawyer for advice.
According to the JI statement, Zaidi made the allegations against the party during a podcast and later repeated them through content circulated on YouTube, Facebook, X, TikTok, WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
The legal notice claimed that Zaidi had characterised JI as an “establishment’s firewall” allegedly used to dilute public issues and protests.
JI’s lawyer argued that the remarks amounted to serious accusations involving alleged secret funding, bribery, corruption, political deception, betrayal of public interests and collusion with state institutions.
The party has demanded that Zaidi provide evidence supporting his allegations, including the identity of the alleged payer and recipient, the amount involved, and the date, time and location of the purported payment.
The notice also seeks details of the alleged payment method, relevant bank records or financial documents, information about the protest or public issue in question, names of witnesses, supporting documents and recordings, and the source of the allegations.
