Defamation case: Murad Saeed’s lawyer granted time to submit arguments

ISLAMABAD: A local court on Friday granted time to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former minister Murad Saeed’s lawyer to submit final arguments in a defamation case filed by Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal against Saeed.

Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Shabbir Bhatti, while hearing the case, approved Saeed’s plea seeking to grant him time for presenting final arguments in the case till March 18.

Saeed, former Federal Minister for Communications and Postal Services held a press conference on February 8, 2019, in which, he accused Iqbal for taking bribes and indulging in corruption of Rs70 billion in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.

Iqbal sent legal notice to Murad Saeed in March, 2019 and sued him for Rs10 billion liabilities.

During the previous hearing, Iqbal during the cross-examination stated that press conference was done on mere allegations and there was no personal grudge among us.

He stated that defendant turned his political differences with me into personal differences.

He also said, Murad Saeed at that time was a federal minister and should have been more responsible, his press conference made brotherly country China to issue a letter which said there was no corruption in CPEC projects.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025