Geo-Jang defamation suit: Court summons posted on Imran’s residence

ISLAMABAD: A court notice has been posted outside Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's residence after he failed to appear or send a counsel in the defamation suit filed against him by Jang/Geo group.

At the last hearing of the case on March 22, Imran or his counsel once again failed to appear before Additional District and Sessions Judge Sikandar Khan. Independent Media counsel Amir Abdullah Abbasi then pleaded the court to initiate ex-parte (one-sided) proceedings.

On the judge's orders, a court official pasted the court summons on Imran's Bani Gala residence on Wednesday. It is said in the summons if Imran or his counsel does not appear on the next hearing on April 9, ex-parte proceedings would be initiated against Imran.

The PTI chief has been advised to appear in person or through his lawyer at 8am on April 9. 

The court official who posted the notice was barred from going ahead of the barrier leading to Imran's house intiailly but was later permitted to post the notice on the main gate after reported instructions from the residence.

Editor-in-Chief & Group Chief Executive Jang Group Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman has filed the suit for damages under the Defamation Ordinance 2002 and demanded an unconditional apology, retraction of all the allegations and seeking Rs1 billion as damages for false statements made against the media group.

The defamation suit

Opposition leader Imran Khan has been served with a legal notice demanding that he issue an unconditional public apology and pay Rs1 billion in “token” damages for making numerous defamatory statements against the Jang-Geo Group and its Chief Executive and Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman over the last four years.

The legal notice was issued in response to many “completely false and misleading... highly defamatory, disparaging and damaging” accusations intermittently made by Khan against the Jang-Geo Group and its chief executive since 2014.

“As a result of your recent representations, statements and expressions on electronic and print media and other forums and the resultant impressions, innuendoes and insinuations that have followed, grave defamation of Jang Group has been committed by you before an audience of millions of viewers and readers both in Pakistan and abroad,” the notice said.

“The allegations are completely false and unfounded and evidently motivated. Your expressions have personal and ulterior motives and objectives, have malice in its construct and portray your biased bend of mind towards Jang Group,” it said.

The legal notice chronologically lists the allegations made by Khan against the Jang-Geo Group, providing evidence of them in the form of transcripts of the defamatory statements he has made during public and media engagements over the past four years.

Among the many unsubstantiated allegations made by Khan, he has accused Pakistan’s leading media house of manipulating the 2013 general election results in favour of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party.

Similarly, Khan has accused the Jang-Geo Group of misreporting events surrounding the Supreme Court hearing into the ‘Panama Papers’ disclosures, supposedly in an attempt to shield the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif from corruption charges and allegedly defame the judiciary.

Khan has chosen to ignore the fact that his petition to the Supreme Court and its subsequent proceedings would not have been possible had the facts contained in the Panama Papers not been uncovered by Jang-Geo Group journalists in the first instance.

Likewise, Khan has accused the Jang-Geo Group of illegally acquiring broadcast rights for the coverage of the 2017 limited-overs cricket series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

With such baseless defamatory remarks failing to gain traction, Khan has also stooped to defaming the Jang-Geo Group as an allegedly treasonous organisation working in tandem with Pakistan’s enemies in India and the United States.

In doing so, Khan has seriously endangered the lives of Jang-Geo Group’s employees.

“Your expressions also are such that these amount to direct provocation and incitement to the members of the public, particularly your political supporters and workers, to act against the Jang Group, which seriously endanger life, property and business of the group and those associated and affiliated with it,” said the legal notice served to Khan on Saturday.

Unable to corroborate any of his defamatory statements, Khan has resorted to the personal vilification of Jang-Geo Group Chief Executive and Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, whom he has characterised as a “blackmailer”, “media godfather” and “pharoah”, and accused of intimidation.

Despite the untold damage caused by Khan’s slanderous campaign, the management of the Jang-Geo Group has been hesitant to initiate legal proceedings against Khan because of its commitment to the democratic principle of freedom of expression.

Rather than responding in kind, the Jang-Geo Group has upheld its ethical credentials by maintaining its substantial, impartial coverage of Khan and his PTI party.

The Jang-Geo Group has offered to submit to an independent, impartial inquiry into the accusations made against it by Khan, who has refused to participate for obvious reasons.

“The Jang Group acted with perseverance and decided not to initiate a legal action for defamation against you, despite highly objectionable and provocative allegations and showed utmost patience, perseverance and restraint,” the legal notice said.

“Such (a) course was adopted by Jang Group, believing that someday wisdom would prevail amongst the leadership of PTI and the party would stop its policy of regression and intolerance towards difference of opinion and dissent.”

Details of the legal notice against Imran Khan can be read here.