ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former federal minister Murad Saeed on Saturday filed an appeal in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), challenging a district court’s decree directing him to pay Rs2.5 million in damages to Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal in a defamation case.
Earlier this month, an Islamabad district court decreed a defamation suit filed by Ahsan Iqbal against Murad Saeed and ordered him to pay Rs2.5 million in damages over allegations of corruption in the Multan-Sukkur Motorway project.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Hakim Khan held that Saeed had failed to substantiate his allegation that Iqbal was involved in corruption amounting to Rs70 billion in the motorway project. The court observed that the allegations had tarnished the minister’s reputation and amounted to defamation.
However, in his appeal before the IHC, Saeed has sought the setting aside of the trial court’s judgment and a stay until a final decision on the appeal.
Saeed’s counsel argued that the impugned judgment was unsustainable because it was based on premises contradicted by the trial court’s own record.
The appeal contends that the trial court incorrectly held that none of the inquiry reports, official records, FIA investigations, NAB material or government documents referred to in Saeed’s written statement had been produced in evidence.
The appellant further argued that the trial court treated him as an absentee or ex parte defendant, despite the case having been fully contested. The appeal also referred to a June 4, 2024 order stating that no adverse order had previously been passed against the defendant.
Saeed maintained that the press conference in which the allegations were made was based on government records and information received from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
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He further contended that the trial court had failed to properly consider the statements of court witnesses and the FIA report.
According to the appeal, Iqbal and his witnesses themselves acknowledged during proceedings that the minister’s reputation had not been damaged. Saeed also argued that the trial court had found that mala fide had not been established, yet still awarded damages.
The appeal cited several judgments of superior courts, including PLD 2002 SC 514 and PLD 1996 Lahore 410, in support of its legal arguments.
Iqbal had filed the defamation suit after Saeed, who was serving as federal minister at the time, accused him during a 2019 press conference of committing corruption worth Rs70 billion in the Multan-Sukkur Motorway project.
Iqbal had sought Rs10 billion in damages, claiming that the allegations had seriously damaged his personal and political reputation.
However, the trial court found the amount claimed excessive in light of the evidence on record. While allowing the suit on merit, the court awarded Rs2.5 million in damages, holding that the injury to the plaintiff’s reputation warranted monetary compensation but not to the extent claimed.
