LAHORE – Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has sent a Rs10 billion defamation notice to Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel, demanding unconditional apology within 15 days or facing legal proceedings for leveling allegations of detecting alcohol and drugs in his urine sample.
In a press conference last week, Mr Patel shared details of reports of PTI chairman’s medical tests conducted earlier this month during his Police custody. Terming medical report as a public document, the minister said that he didn’t need permission of anybody for its release.
Giving details of the report, he claimed that no fracture was found on legs while traces of alcohol and other banned drugs were also detected in the urine sample. He also put a question mark on the mental stability of PTI chairman.
Experts, however, have found contradictions in the report. While pointing out drug abuse and putting question mark on the mental stability of ex-premier, the report had declared that his mental function was intact, clinical status stable and as such quite fit for detention by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The notice has been sent to the federal minister under Section 8 of the Defamation Ordinance, 2002 for circulating wrongful, baseless, false, misleading, erroneous, malicious and defamatory information in his May 26 presser.
According to the notice, the presser was watched in Pakistan as well as all over the world through electronic media, 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 further reads that Imran Khan had sustained a head injury on the day of his illegal arrest on May 9 but there was no mention of it in the medical report shared by the minister.
It said that the report had emphasized a lot on Imran’s mental state but no details were provided of an examination being conducted in this regard.
The notice said that the remarks were made knowingly, consciously, willingly, deliberately and maliciously. It said that the minister’s remarks were also in violation of the standards and ethics which member of the federal cabinet must possess.
It said that Patel’s defamatory claims had caused damage to Imran’s good will, injury to his reputation, and had adversely affected his honor. “The minister has also caused emotional trauma, mental agony and anguish and distress to our client,” the notice reads.
The notice demanded Patel to retract his statements in the same mode and manner in which he made them in the first place and tender an unconditional apology.
It also called on the minister to pay Rs10 billion, which would be donated to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, for defaming Imran and levelling false allegations against him. It called on Patel to refrain from making further defamatory comments.
The notice said that Imran would be compelled to initiate legal proceedings if the minister failed to take the aforementioned steps within 15 days.
