Pak former minister Rehman Malik files defamation case against US blogger Cynthia Ritchie
- 09 Jun 2020
Tariq Butt, Correspondent
Former interior minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Rehman Malik has filed in the Supreme Court a Rs500 million defamation suit against US blogger Cynthia Ritchie over “false, frivolous and baseless allegation of rape” against him through his lawyer.
A notice has been sent to the US blogger, demanding a prompt withdrawal of the allegation and an unqualified apology.
“I would recommend all media channels of Pakistan that an issue is being created to malign the political leadership of Pakistan,” Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani said. “You can put it in writing. If we create pomp and show about it, then today it is the PPP, tomorrow it will be another party and then so on. Maybe, those who are blowing trumpets about it, they can also fall victim to it.”
Ghani said that people were aware of the “activities” of those who were in power. “If the government ministers think they can be happy over false allegations regarding others, then they will have to face true allegations against themselves. Then, they will not be able to rid themselves of it.”
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The PPP leader said that the nation faced a multitude of issues but the channels were busy running the “baseless and false allegations of a woman.”
He that the allegations were being levelled by a woman whose own character was “dubious.”
“At times, she is in Israel, at times in India. A foreigner comes here and tries to be more patriotic than you and me. How is it possible?” he asked.
Ritchie has said she fully stands by her allegations against the PPP leaders.
During interviews to TV channels, she alleged that Malik called her by sending a driver and promised to resolve her issue related to her visa. She claimed that Malik made her drink a toxic drink and then raped her.
On the other hand, a court on Monday commuted the death sentence for a defendant who has spent the last 18 years on death row for a crime he was convicted of committing when he was a juvenile, a local advocacy group said.
The Lahore High Court reduced Mohammad Iqbal’s sentence to life in prison.
“This is a landmark judgement that could set a precedent for future cases pertaining to juvenile offenders in Pakistan,” said Ali Haider Habib, a spokesman with Justice Project Pakistan.