LAHORE (MNN); Sessions court in Lahore on Saturday adjourned proceedings in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s defamation case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan until January 14, while calling additional witnesses.
The hearing was conducted by Additional Sessions Judge Yilmaz Ghani. During the proceedings, prosecution witness Adnan Raza recorded his statement, after which Imran Khan’s counsel, Muhammad Hussain Chotya, completed the cross-examination.
In his testimony, Adnan Raza said he was an active worker of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and that his entire family was affiliated with the party. He told the court that on April 8, 2017, Imran Khan had accused Shehbaz Sharif of offering a bribe of Rs10 billion. He added that the allegation was later repeated on television programmes, public gatherings and through newspaper reports.
The witness maintained that the accusations were false and had seriously harmed Shehbaz Sharif’s political reputation. He further claimed that the statements triggered public unrest and resulted in political losses for the PML-N.
During cross-examination, the defence questioned the witness on issues related to the Panama Papers case, election outcomes and Form-47. Adnan Raza rejected the defence’s stance and reiterated that the allegations against Shehbaz Sharif were unfounded.
The court noted that statements and cross-examinations of previous witnesses, including the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly and Ata Tarar, had already been completed. The hearing was then adjourned until January 14 for further proceedings.
