Islamabad: The District and Sessions Court of Islamabad has ruled in favour of Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal in a defamation case and ordered former federal minister Murad Saeed to pay Rs 2. 5 million in damages.
The court found that allegations of Rs 70 billion corruption made against Ahsan Iqbal were not supported by evidence and had harmed his reputation.
Additional Sessions Judge Hakim Khan announced the verdict, stating that the accusations made by Murad Saeed amounted to defamation. The court observed that the allegations included claims of corruption, misuse of authority and receiving illegal commissions, all of which were found to be unproven during the proceedings.
According to the judgment, the statements had affected Ahsan Iqbal’s reputation and public standing. The court noted that the allegations created a negative impression among citizens and directly targeted his integrity, character and credibility.
The case stemmed from a press conference held in 2019 when Murad Saeed was serving as a federal minister. During the media briefing, he accused Ahsan Iqbal of corruption in the Multan-Sukkur Motorway project and claimed that financial irregularities worth Rs 70 billion had taken place.
Ahsan Iqbal later filed a defamation suit seeking Rs10 billion in damages. After reviewing the record, the court decided to award Rs 2. 5 million as compensation.
The judgment also highlighted that Murad Saeed neither appeared before the court nor submitted evidence to support the allegations made during the press conference. The absence of proof played a key role in the court’s findings.