Defamation suit against Khawaja Asif: PM submits affidavit in court

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday submitted an affidavit in the court of Muhammad Adnan, the additional district and sessions judge, Islamabad, in a Rs10 billion defamation suit filed by him against Khawaja Muhammad Asif, the then defence minister during Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.

Khawaja Asif had accused Imran Khan – the founder of Shaukat Kahnum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH) – of misappropriation and money-laundering in the funds of the hospice during a presser held on August 1, 2012 and later reiterated the same allegations in a television talk show.

Khan, who is now prime minister, in his affidavit, submitted to the session court, termed the allegations as baseless and fabricated. In his affidavit, he said that he used to be the biggest individual donor of the hospice from 1991 to 2009.

“The Shaukat Khanum Trust’s investment schemes were decided by an expert committee,” he declared. He said that he is founder and chairman of the SKMCH’s board of governors which runs and operates SKMCH and is the leading healthcare provider for cancer patients in Pakistan, adding he is also the founder and chairman of a political party named, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and is currently serving as prime minister of Pakistan.

“It is unfortunate to make baseless and fabricated allegations against a welfare institution,” he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021