ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC), Thursday, allowed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, Khawaja Asif’s petition to cross-examine Prime Minister Imran Khan in a defamation suit.
A single bench of Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition of Asif challenging the sessions court’s decision of not giving his counsel a right to present arguments in a defamation suit worth Rs10 billion filed by Prime Minister Khan against him.
During the proceedings, the bench observed that cross-examining was the other party’s right. If the trial court had fixed the next date for cross-examination, then it would have been regarded as a fair trial.
The judge said the bench would direct the trial court to decide the case in two months. He said that the case should be heard regularly and instructed the trial court to conclude the case after conducting hearing on a daily basis.
Imran Khan had filed the defamation suit against Asif in 2012 for recovery of Rs10 billion as at a press conference, the latter had levelled allegations of misappropriation of funds and money laundering through the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust (SKMT) funds.
The Prime Minister had submitted an affidavit last month to Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Muhammad Adnan via video link against the PML-N leader for levelling allegations of non-transparency, money laundering and use of anonymous companies in the SKMT funds.
According to the document submitted, Asif, while addressing a news conference held at the Punjab House, had alleged that Imran had indulged in money laundering or had approved the commission of the practice through the SKMT. Later on the same evening at a private TV programme, he repeated the allegations.
In his petition, the PML-N leader challenged the lower court’s verdict and cited PM Imran and the sessions court judge as respondents. Asif adopted that PM Imran’s statement was recorded by the ADSJ via video link in the absence of his lawyer.
He added that his counsel had informed the sessions’ court that he could not appear on December 17 due to ill-health but the ADSJ recorded the premier’s statement in the absence of his counsel and the sessions’ court announced the verdict in haste without referring to any law.
He prayed before the IHC bench to annul the decision of the lower court of terminating his right to cross-examine.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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