Court orders Murad Saeed to pay Rs2.5m damages to Ahsan Iqbal

• Court rejects Rs10bn damages claim as excessive.
• Murad Saeed failed to provide supporting evidence.
• Judge says allegations damaged Iqbal’s integrity.
  

A local court in Islamabad has ruled in favour of PML-N leader and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal in a damages lawsuit, ordering PTI leader Murad Saeed to pay Rs2.5 million in damages.

In its verdict, the district and sessions court noted that Saeed’s allegations against Iqbal had damaged the PML-N leader’s reputation, honour and dignity.

In February 2019, Saeed — then the federal minister for communications — accused Iqbal of receiving up to Rs70 billion in commissions in the Multan-Sukkur Motorway project.

The verdict was announced by Additional Sessions Judge Hakim Khan. The judge observed that Saeed’s allegations of Rs70 billion in corruption, misuse of authority and illegal commissions against Iqbal were defamatory and were not proven by the evidence.

The court observed that the allegations created a negative impression of Iqbal among the public and amounted to a direct attack on his integrity, character and reputation.

The verdict stated that Iqbal had sought Rs10 billion in damages, but the court found the amount excessive in light of the evidence presented.

The court further ruled that Saeed neither appeared before the court nor submitted any evidence in support of his allegations.