Azma Bukhari wins defamation case, tribunal orders Moeen Qureshi to pay Rs84m

LAHORE: A defamation tribunal in Lahore has ruled in favour of Punjab Information Minister Uzma Bukhari in a case against Punjab Assembly opposition leader Moeen Qureshi, ordering him to pay Rs84 million in damages.

The tribunal issued a short order in the case, with a detailed judgment to follow.

Qureshi had alleged during a television programme that Bukhari arranged for 150 to 200 paid individuals to enter the Punjab Assembly during Khyber Pakhtunkhwa dposed Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s visit.

He also claimed that journalists who questioned Afridi were paid employees of Bukhari.

Bukhari rejected the allegations as false and fabricated, saying they were intended to damage her reputation, and subsequently filed a defamation suit against Qureshi.

According to the tribunal, Qureshi acknowledged making the statements during the television programme but failed to produce evidence to establish that the allegations against Bukhari were true.

The tribunal also said Qureshi’s lawyers had failed to disprove Bukhari’s claim through their arguments.

Bukhari had sought Rs84 million in damages in the suit and was represented by lawyer Ali Bukhari.