A district and sessions court in Islamabad has accepted a defamation suit filed by Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal against former federal minister Murad Saeed and ordered the latter to pay Rs2.5 million in damages.
Additional Sessions Judge Hakeem Khan announced the verdict, ruling that Murad Saeed had failed to prove his allegations of Rs70 billion corruption against Ahsan Iqbal.
According to the judgement, the allegations of corruption, misuse of authority and receiving illegal commissions levelled against Ahsan Iqbal constituted defamation. The court observed that the disputed statements had damaged the federal minister’s reputation, honour and dignity and created a negative impression of him among the public.
The verdict stated that the accusations amounted to a direct attack on Ahsan Iqbal’s integrity, character and reputation. The court noted that Murad Saeed neither appeared before the court nor presented any evidence to substantiate his claims.
Ahsan Iqbal had sought Rs10 billion in damages in the defamation suit. However, the court held that the amount claimed was excessive in light of the available evidence and awarded Rs2.5 million as compensation.
The case arose from a 2019 press conference in which Murad Saeed, then serving as a federal minister, accused Ahsan Iqbal of corruption in the Multan-Sukkur Motorway project.
