Court delays PM Sharif’s Rs 10 billion case against PTI founder

LAHORE: A sessions court in Lahore has postponed the hearing of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s defamation case against the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan until 24 May 2025, ARY News reported.

The case, which involves a claim of Rs 10 billion in damages, was heard by Additional Sessions Judge Yilmaz Ghani.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appeared via video link while Advocate Muhammad Hussain, the lawyer for Imran Khan, cross-examined him. The cross-examination will continue during the next hearing.

During the hearing, the PTI founder’s lawyer asked Shehbaz Sharif whether the Rs 10 billion bribe offer linked to the Panama Papers case was mentioned in the claim.

The Prime Minister replied that the claim does not state that Imran Khan directly made him the offer.

When asked if former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had filed any direct claim for damages against the PTI founder, Shehbaz Sharif said that Imran Khan had accused Nawaz Sharif of offering a Rs 10 billion bribe through his brother.

He added that when this alleged offer was made, their other brother Abbas Sharif had already passed away, and only the two of them were alive.

Shehbaz Sharif also said that no family member’s name, including Nawaz Sharif or himself, was mentioned in the TV programme where the offer was discussed.

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When a question was asked about the audio recording of Justice Malik Qayyum, Shehbaz Sharif’s lawyer Mustafa Ramday objected.

He said the question was taken from the PTI founder’s response, which the Supreme Court and Lahore High Court have already ruled is no longer valid.

Ramday added that referring to the audio of Justice Qayyum and Shehbaz Sharif is an attempt to scandalise the matter and should not be allowed.

The PTI founder’s lawyer asked if the anchor in the TV programme mentioned Shehbaz Sharif’s name when asking about the alleged offer. The Prime Minister said the anchor did not mention his name, and even in his reply, Imran Khan did not name him.

When asked whether the PTI founder had denied making the Rs 10 billion offer, Shehbaz Sharif replied he was unsure but believed the PTI founder had clearly hinted towards him, even if not by name.

At one point, Shehbaz Sharif quoted a Punjabi phrase with the court’s permission: “Sari raat rondi rahi te mariya koi vi na,” which caused laughter in the courtroom.