Supreme Court of Pakistan stays Imran Khan trial, notifies PM
Supreme Court halts defamation trial, seeks Shehbaz response on Imran Khan review petition linked to Panama Papers dispute case today.
PTI & PMLN – (Web Desk) – The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday sent a notice to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after a review petition was filed by former premier Imran Khan, founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, in a long-standing defamation case.
A three-member bench led by Justice Ayesha A Malik also suspended the trial court proceedings related to the Rs10 billion lawsuit.
The bench noted that the case would be scheduled for an early hearing and pointed out that no representative for the respondent appeared during the session.
The defamation case dates back to 2017, when Shehbaz Sharif filed the suit after Imran Khan accused him of offering a Rs10 billion bribe to drop legal action connected to the Panama Papers revelations.
The trial court had earlier struck off Imran Khan’s right of defence, although his counsel maintained that the case had already reached the stage of recording evidence.
In his latest plea, Imran Khan has requested the apex court to suspend ongoing proceedings in the lower courts until his appeal is decided.
The original Panama Papers case, spearheaded politically by Imran Khan, resulted in the disqualification of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 2017.
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The Supreme Court’s unanimous verdict at the time focused on Nawaz Sharif’s failure to disclose employment in a Dubai-based company.
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