LAHORE – A civil court on Saturday adjourned the hearing of a case regarding Rs10 billion defamation suit filed by Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan till Nov 22.
During the hearing, Khan’s lawyer informed the court that lead counsel Dr Baber Awan could not attend the hearing due to some engagements and sought time for preparing arguments int eh case
The suit was filed after the PTI supremo alleged that he was offered Rs10 billion by a close associate of the Chief Minister Punjab to keep mum over the Panama papers case against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The case was filed in the court of Lahore additional sessions judge Azfar Sultan under section 4 (defamation actionable) and 9 (remedies) of Defamation Ordinance, 2002.
On April 25, during a gathering at Shaukat Khanum Hospital, Lahore, Imran Khan alleged that he was offered a staggering Rs10 billion to retreat on the Panama case, which was under top court’s scrutiny at the time.
“Just imagine how much money he offered me to be silent — Rs10 billion! If he can offer me this much money, just imagine how much he could offer others,” Khan had claimed.
The cricketer-turned-politician, however, refused to name the individual who had made the offer.
