Imran serves Rs10 bn defamation notice to health minister

PTI chief demands 'unconditional' apology for causing 'emotional trauma' and 'injury to reputation'

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan served a defamation notice on Tuesday to Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel after the latter disclosed that "traces of alcohol and cocaine were found in the former premier’s urine analysis".

The legal notice, filed under the Defamation Ordinance, 2002, was served on account of the “dissemination and circulation of wrongful, baseless, false, misleading, erroneous, malicious and defamatory information” against Imran during the minister’s press conference on May 26.

It claimed that through the press conference, the minister “dishonestly…alleged” that Imran’s medical tests showed traces of alcohol and cocaine in his urine sample and that the former premier’s “mental stability” was “questionable” in addition to “some appropriate gesture”.

The notice questioned how “alcohol and cocaine consumption can be traced through a urine test”.

It continued that the medical report “failed to mention” that Imran “incurred head injury on the day of his illegal arrest”, and that “there are no details of a full trauma examination”.

“The report emphasises a lot on mental state of our client [Imran Khan]; however, no details of mental state examination have been provided,” it stated.

Read JIT summons Imran in May 9 cases today

According to the notice the health minister’s remarks were made “knowingly, consciously, willingly, deliberately and maliciously which is highly irrational and negates the principles of ethics and morals”. It further added that the comments were “also in violation of the standards and ethics which members of [the] Federal Cabinet must possess and display”.

It maintained that Patel was “responsible and liable for the defamatory circulation and dissemination” which caused “a loss” to the PTI chief’s “goodwill, injury to his reputation and adversely affected his honour”.

“Likewise, you have also caused emotional trauma, mental agony, anguish and distress to our client”.

The notice demanded that Patel “retract” his statements in the same “mode and manner” in which they were made, and “tender an unconditional apology and admit” that he “misstated”.

It further called the minister to pay “Rs 10 billion for defaming…and levelling false allegations” against Imran, adding that the money would be “donated to Shaukat Khanam Memorial Cancer Hospital”.

And lastly, it asked Patel to “refrain from repeating and making further defamatory comments”.

The notice warned that if the demands were not fulfilled within 15 days, Imran would be “compelled to institute legal proceedings”.