Cynthia Ritchie, Rehman Malik withdraw cases against each other

• US Blogger Cynthia D Ritchie and PPP leader Senator Rehman Malik had earlier submitted their applications to withdraw their cases against each other in the Islamabad High Court
  
• IHC’s judge Justice Amir Farooq granted both the petitions
  
• The two had approached the court to file cases against each other last year in May.
  

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Islamabad High Court (IHC) accepted on Thursday the petitions filed by US Blogger Cynthia D Ritchie and PPP leader Senator Rehman Malik to withdraw their cases against each other.

 IHC's Justice Amir Farooq granted both the petitions.

According to Ritchie's lawyer Imran Feroz Malik, she had filed a miscellaneous petition to withdraw the case.

Read more: Cynthia’s allegations: Myth or reality?

On the other hand, Malik's lawyer also withdrew the petition against Ritchie. The two had approached the court to file cases against each other last year.

Ritchie accuses PPP leadership of 'harassment' and 'manhandling'

Last year in May, in a video broadcast live on Facebook, Ritchie had alleged that a senior PPP leader had raped her while two others had 'manhandled' her on a separate occasion.

Read more: PPP moves FIA against Cynthia D. Ritchie over 'derogatory, slanderous remarks' about Benazir Bhutto

She had stated that the incidents occurred in 2011 during the PPP tenure when the individual she accused of rape had been a senior minister.

Ritchie had further alleged that two other senior party leaders — a federal minister and former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gillani (who publicly responded to the allegation) — had "physically manhandled" her when the latter "was staying the President House".

The feud seemed to have begun with Ritchie's "slanderous" remarks on Twitter against late PPP leader Benazir Bhutto, but what the blogger claims likely stems from "dirt" she has on the party.

PPP has also filed a complaint with the FIA for Ritchie's tweet and claims Ritchie's accusations against party leaders are in response to that.

Ritchie, in a Geo News interview with "Naya Pakistan" host Shahzad Iqbal claimed a PPP leader provided her information on Benazir Bhutto based on which she had posted the tweet.

She had said that she would prove her allegations against senior PPP leaders in court and would present whatever evidence she had to authorities in Pakistan.