.
Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar. PHOTO: APPLICATION
LAHORE:
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar recorded his statement as part of a Rs 10 billion defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against PTI founder Imran Khan.
Tarar appeared before the court as a witness and recorded his testimony before Additional Sessions Judge Yulmaz Ghani.
He said the PTI founder had “knowingly and repeatedly” leveled false and baseless allegations against Shehbaz, implying that he had offered a bribe of Rs 10 billion in return for silence over the Panama Papers case.
Tarar told the court that the accusations were first made publicly at a ceremony in Peshawar on April 25, 2017, and then repeated during a program broadcast on April 26, 2017. He further said that the same claims resurfaced in several other television interviews.
The court was informed that the allegations were also reiterated at a political rally at Parade Ground, Rawalpindi, broadcast by Express News on April 28, 2017, and then at Karachi Airport, footage of which was broadcast by 24 News on April 30, 2017.
