Pak court issues notice to Imran Khan in Shahbaz’s defamation case

A Pakistani court has issued a notice to Prime Minister Imran Khan in a defamation case filed by PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif seeking early hearing of his suit against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman, pending for three years.

Prime Minister Khan in April 2017 alleged that Shahbaz offered him USD 61 million through a “common friend” to withdraw the Panama Papers case in the Supreme Court against 70-year-old former prime minister and his elder brother Nawaz Sharif. Sharif, who is currently in London for treatment, is the supremo of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). He was disqualified as prime minister in 2017 by the Supreme Court in 2017 in the Panama Papers case.

Three corruption cases - Avenfield properties, Flagship investment and Al-Azizia steel mills - were registered against the Sharif family by the anti-graft body in 2017 following a judgment by the Supreme Court that disqualified him.