PPP serves defamation notice on Imran Khan

Islamabad: Pakistan People’s Party on Monday served a legal notice to former premier and PTI chief Imran Khan to apologise for leveling allegations against former President Asif Zardari.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief, who made startling remarks in one of his fiery speeches, landed in hot water as he has been given two weeks’ time to apologise.

The notice issued by Farooq Naek stated that allegations hurled by the PTI chairman have maligned, smeared and dishonored his client’s name and reputation within the country as well as abroad as the same is an attack on his personal life as well as on his political career.

It further said Imran Khan ‘committed utterly unjustified and inexcusable defamation just to malign our client’s reputation in Pakistan as well as in the world causing severe agony, mental stress and loss of reputation.’

“You are, therefore, hereby called upon to render unconditional apology from our client, on television, print and social media, within 14 (fourteen) days from the receipt of this notice, failing whereof, our client shall be constrained to institute appropriate legal proceedings against you, civil as well as criminal, before the competent Courts of law and forums of Pakistan as well as of England, including but not limited to Suit for Damages for Rs.10,000,000,000/- (Rupees ten billion Only) at your risk as to cost and consequences,” the legal notice reads.

Last week, the ousted prime minister accused Asif Zardari of being a key player in hatching a new conspiracy for his assassination. He said the money looted from Sindh, where the PPP is in the power, was being used to kill him, adding that Zardari was among the four persons involved in hatching a plot to assassinate him.

The former premier said he had already recorded a video, which will be released in case he is killed.

Talking about the arrests of PTI leaders, Khan said they were being treated as traitors and victimised for political revenge openly. He said the government had put all its focus to remove him from the politics instead of fixing the economic issues, which continue to deepen with every passing day. He said the Pakistani rupee had plummeted to a historic low while foreign exchange reserves had fallen to an alarming level. He recalled the reserves were stood at more than $16 billion when the PTI government was toppled.