Rs10bn | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) stayed on Friday a trial by the court of an additional district judge in Lahore in a RS10 billion defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against PTI founder Imran Khan. In his suit filed in 2017, PM Shehbaz said Imran levelled baseless allegations against him. He sought a decree for the recovery of Rs10bn as compensation from the defendant for the publication of defamatory content. The defamation suit said Imran wrongly accused PM Shehbaz of offering Rs10bn to the latter through a common friend in exchange for withdrawing the Panama Papers case. The PTI founder had contended in his reply that he had disclosed the alleged incident for the consumption of the public at large, and an act in the interest of the public good did not constitute any defamation. He maintained that he did not specifically attribute any statement to the PM Shehbaz while narrating the incident. A three-judge SC bench, headed by Justice Ayesha A Malik and including Justices Muhammad Hashim ...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has announced a Rs10 billion allocation for the Frontier Corps (FC) to strengthen the force’s capacity-building and bolster security in Balochistan. Addressing FC headquarters during her visit to Balochistan on Tuesday, she paid tribute to those serving in Balochistan under difficult and dangerous circumstances. In her speech, which was aired on Wednesday, Maryam shared that she found out a few months ago that the FC required Rs10 billion for “capacity building”. “I was asked to contribute whatever Punjab could,” she stated. “I decided it was not a favour … it was a responsibility. I said we will provide them the entire Rs10bn.” The chief minister highlighted that the allocation aimed to enhance operational readiness and strengthen security efforts in Balochistan, particularly in light of recent threats and attacks. CM Maryam’s visit came in the wake of a spate of attacks across Balochistan on January 31, which brought parts of the restive province to a standstill for severa...