ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday accepted the request of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Khwaja Asif and allowed him to cross-examine Prime Minister Imran Khan's statement before a trial court in the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust case. .
The court also directed the trial court to hear the matter and decide the matter within the stipulated time. The Chief Justice of the IHC heard the appeal of Khwaja Asif against the decision of the District and Sessions Court, which did not allow him to cross-examine Imran Khan's statement.
At the beginning of the hearing, the court asked Khwaja Asif the reason why he was trying to unnecessarily delay the proceedings of the case. The court observed that the petitioner had a fundamental right to cross-examine the statement of the third party, holding that the statement was recorded on December 17, and how the trial court could deny the right of cross-examination on the same date.
Imran Khan's lawyer said that Khwaja Asif did not pursue the matter for a year and remained absent. After this, the court allowed Khwaja Asif to cross-examine the statement and directed the trial court to conclude the matter by conducting daily hearings.
Significantly, PM Imran Khan had filed a Rs 10 billion defamation suit against Khwaja Asif for making baseless allegations against Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust in a press conference in 2012.