Amid the ongoing political turmoil, former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan sent a defamation notice to the country’s Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel. Khan sent the legal notice of PKR 10 billion to Patel after he questioned the PTI chief’s mental stability at a press conference, Dunya News reported. In the legal notice, Khan pointed out Patel’s allegation that traces of alcohol and cocaine were found in the urine analysis of the cricketing legend. On May 26, Patel shared the details of Khan’s confidential medical report which was supposedly conducted while Khan was in custody.
The PTI chief sent the legal notice through his lawyer Abuzar Salman Khan Niazi. The legal notice was sent to Patel under the Defamation Ordinance, 2002, which deals with the “dissemination and circulation of wrongful, baseless, false, misleading, erroneous, malicious and defamatory information”. “The press conference was watched in Pakistan as well as all over the world through electronic media channels, YouTube and various other social media platforms. Moreover, details regarding the press conference were also published in newspapers nationally as well as internationally,” the notice said. “The report emphasises a lot on the mental state of our client [Imran Khan]; however, no details of mental state examination have been provided,” it further added.
Imran Khan accuses Patel of having ‘malicious interests’
The defamatory notice sent by Khan’s lawyer alleged that the Health Minister made these remarks, “knowingly, consciously, willingly, deliberately and maliciously”. It highlighted that such a proclamation caused “a loss” to the PTI chief’s “goodwill and injury to his reputation”. Khan demanded that the Federal Health Minster retract his comment and tender an unconditional apology. He also insisted that Patel should admit that he had committed a mistake, Dunya News reported. The notice called on Patel to pay “Rs 10 billion for defaming…and levelling false allegations”.
“Likewise, you (Patel) have also caused emotional trauma, mental agony and anguish and distress to our client (Imran),” the notice added. During last week’s press conference, the health minister disregarded questions surrounding the moral and ethical grounds for sharing the medical records of the PTI chief. Patel alleged that the National Accountability Bureau office collected Khan’s urine sample on May 9, shortly after Khan was arrested in the Al Qadir Trust Case. Reading the report in front of the Pak media, the health minister stated that Khan appeared under stress and displayed symptoms of anxiety during his medical examination. After alleging that traces of drug and alcohol were found in Khan’s urine sample Patel stated that a detailed report will be shared with the media once finalised. Meanwhile, the notice stated that Imran would be “compelled to initiate” legal proceedings if the minister failed to take the aforementioned steps within 15 days.
