Lahore: Speaker Punjab Assembly, Malik Ahmad Khan, appeared before the Lahore Sessions Court and recorded his testimony as a witness in the defamation case filed by former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against PTI founder Imran Khan.
The testimony was recorded before Sessions Judge Yilmaz Ghani, who had summoned Malik Ahmad Khan as a witness in the Rs 10 billion defamation suit. Appearing in court, the Speaker provided detailed statements regarding Imran Khan’s allegations and their subsequent impact.
In his testimony, Malik Ahmad Khan stated that Imran Khan had leveled baseless and serious accusations in April 2017, alleging that Shehbaz Sharif accepted bribes—allegations broadcast widely across national television channels. He said that he has a long-standing political affiliation with Shehbaz Sharif, who served the public as Chief Minister and Prime Minister, while the allegations made by Imran Khan amounted to misleading propaganda aimed at damaging his reputation.
He further said that Islam strictly prohibits lying and backbiting, and spreading false accusations against any individual is ethically and religiously unacceptable. He added that Shehbaz Sharif was fully entitled to bring this matter before the court.
During cross-examination, Imran Khan’s counsel, Ahmed Hussain Chotiyana, questioned Malik Ahmad Khan on various points. Responding to a query, he said that the television programs mentioned were national broadcasts, not necessarily aired from Punjab. When asked about the Panama Papers case, he explained that the case related to individuals with foreign investments, though he was unaware whether Imran Khan had filed a specific petition regarding it. He confirmed that Nawaz Sharif was convicted in the Panama Papers matter.
He rejected the suggestion that Shehbaz Sharif’s lawsuit was based on a false claim.
After the cross-examination concluded, the court summoned additional witnesses for the next hearing and adjourned proceedings until December 13.
Speaking to the media outside the court, Malik Ahmad Khan said that while constitutional amendments were passed today, he had been advocating the same position for 15 years—that Parliament cannot relinquish its authority. He expressed frustration over the seven-year-old case but maintained that institutional reforms require consistency.
He asserted that only Parliament has the authority to write the Constitution, not the Supreme Court, and pointed out that international reports also call for strengthening parliamentary effectiveness. Commenting on Imran Khan, he questioned whether the PTI founder enjoys any special status, noting that Shehbaz Sharif was also kept in jail under the same manual and not even allowed home-cooked food.
He added that if incidents like May 9 were carried out by other groups such as TLP, strict actions would immediately follow, yet certain political developments—including decisions related to the Panama case—had set unusual precedents.
