ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court in Islamabad has imposed a fine of Rs5,000 on Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, second time in less than a month, after he sought adjournment in a defamation suit he initiated against Minister for Defense Khawaja Muhammad Asif in 2012.
Ten years ago, Khan sent Asif a defamation notice demanding from him Rs10 billion in damages after he accused the former prime minister of investing, and losing, in real estate gambling, $4.5 million — which was donated to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital (SKMH) in the form of donations — abroad.
Asif had subjected Khan to similar claims in 2017 as well when he was Minister for Defense in the government of now-deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Speaking to a group of reporters, he had claimed Khan invested the charity money meant for the hospital and Namal Institute in France and Oman.
During the proceeding son Saturday, a counsel for Khan moved an application requesting the judge that his client could not appear due to his engagements. The main lawyer was also unavailable as he was not in the country, he added.
At this, Adnan Khan, the additional district and sessions judge, then deferred the cross-examination by Asif’s counsel on Khan’s statement until October 22. He also accepted Khan’s adjournment plea with a Rs5,000 fine.
During the last hearing on September 10, the court had also imposed a fine of Rs5,000 on the PTI chair for seeking an adjournment due to political engagements.
