ISLAMABAD: On a petition by PML-N stalwart Khawaja Asif, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued a notice to Prime Minister Imran Khan, questioning the legitimacy of the former’s comments in a defamation suit.
The petition was heard by a single bench led by Chief Justice Athar Minallah.
Following a preliminary hearing, the court issued a notice to Prime Minister Imran Khan and ordered a sessions judge to stay away from the defamation case until further orders were issued. The hearing has been rescheduled until January 12th.
On December 17, the prime minister used a video link to record his statement before Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Mohammad Adnan in the defamation suit he filed against Khawaja Asif in 2012 for making allegations about irregularities and money laundering involving the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH) funds.
The PML-N leader said in his plea that the ADSJ took away his right to cross-examine Prime Minister Imran Khan.
He claimed he filed multiple applications to increase the number of defence witnesses, but the judge refused to consider them and instead proceeded with the case unilaterally.
PM Khan’s statement was recorded by the ADSJ in the absence of his lawyers, according to Asif.
