US blogger Ritchie and former Pakistani minister end legal battle against each other
- 14 Jan 2021
Tariq Butt, Correspondent
US blogger Cynthia Ritchie and former interior minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Senator Rehman Malik have ended the court litigation against each other.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday accepted Ritchie's request to withdraw a petition seeking the registration of a criminal case against Malik for allegedly raping her in 2011. Justice Amir Farooq dismissed her petition.
Malik also withdrew his petition for registration of a defamation case against the US blogger.
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Ritchie's lawyer Imran Feroze Malik said the petition had been withdrawn on the request of Ritchie herself. "Today we have withdrawn all the petitions based on multiple requests."
He also said Malik had also withdrawn his petitions after reconciliation between the two.
In June last year, Ritchie had come out with startling allegations of rape by the former interior minister and assault by other PPP leaders in 2011. In a video released on Facebook, Ritchie said, "In 2011, I was raped by the former interior minister Rehman Malik. That's right, I'll say it again. I was raped by the then interior minister Rehman Malik."
She said she was reserving "some of the more graphic details" because her audience could include children, but added that she would be "happy to go into more detail" with neutral investigative journalists.
A spokesperson for Malik denied the allegations and responded, "He does not want to respond directly, but denies the allegations." "The allegations are untruthful and have been made to harm Malik's reputation."