The Islamabad High Court has issued Prime Minister Imran Khan a notice pursuing his reply in a libel case against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif who made allegations about fund embezzlement in the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust (SKMT) fund.
The PM filed the case against the PML-N leader in 2012 to recover Rs10bn as Asif made the allegations at a press conference.
The premier recorded his statement before the court digitally saying he remained the chief donor of the SKMT from the years 1991 to 2009. He added that the investments, which were the subject of the allegations, were recovered by the trust.
The statement was challenged legally by Asif in the Islamabad High Court who argued that the ASDJ had individually deprived him of his right to cross –examine the prime minister.
According to the petition, court was made aware that Asif’s counsel would not be present at the proceedings due to health matter, but the additional district and sessions judge (ASDJ) recorded PM Khan’s statement without the presence of the defense counsel on December 17, 2021.
The petition requested the IHC to put aside the ASDJ’s order.
Successively, the IHC prevented the ASDJ from carrying out proceedings before the next hearing while the premier was issued a notice.
The hearing has been adjourned till January 12.
