In January, Bokhari filed the defamation suit against Qureshi seeking damages of Rs800 million. She filed the claim against the opposition leader, alleging that he made “baseless and fabricated” accusations against her.
In a short order issued on Tuesday, the tribunal said that the counsel for both parties had concluded their final arguments.
“The claim of the plaintiff is hereby decreed up to the extent of general damages amounting to Rupees three million (Rs3,000,000),” said tribunal member Anjum Raza Syed in an order seen by Dawn.
However, the tribunal dismissed the minister’s claim for special and punitive damages.
Meanwhile, the PTI said in its statement that its MPA was told to pay Rs84m in damages.
Bokhari’s counsel argued that the defendant, Qureshi, had acknowledged making the remarks in question during a television programme but had failed to produce any evidence to substantiate the allegations.
The tribunal said a detailed judgment would be issued separately.
The information minister had filed the suit following allegations Qureshi levelled at the time of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s then-chief minister Sohail Afridi’s visit to the Punjab Assembly.
He had alleged that the provincial minister got 200 paid individuals into the assembly premises, and that the journalists who put questions to Afridi were her salaried employees. Commenting on the verdict, Qureshi wrote on X: “The voice I raise in favour of the people’s rights, the supremacy of the Constitution, and Imran Khan cannot be silenced.”
He asserted that as the opposition leader, his duty was “not to flatter those in power but to question them, defend the rights of the people, and stand firm against every undemocratic action”
“Remember! Dissent is the strength of democracy, not its weakness. Attempting to respond to criticism with fines cannot prove any stance wrong.”
Azma had filed the suit before the Lahore Defamation Tribunal under the Defamation Act, seeking Rs84 million in damages over Qureshi’s allegations concerning the visit of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chief minister to the Punjab Assembly.
Speaking to the media after the decision, Azma's counsel, Ali Bukhari, said the opposition leader had levelled false allegations against the minister but failed to substantiate them during the trial.
“Alhamdulillah, the court has delivered its verdict in our favour today,” the counsel said, adding that Qureshi had admitted during the trial that he did not have evidence to support his allegations.
Azma said Qureshi had alleged that the information minister brought more than 100 paid persons into the Punjab Assembly during the K-P chief minister’s visit. He added that the opposition leader had also accused journalists who questioned the K-P chief minister during the visit of being paid employees of the minister.
According to the counsel, Qureshi had maintained during the proceedings that he made the statement as his personal observation. However, he failed to prove the allegations, Bukhari said.Under the ruling, Qureshi is liable to pay Rs84 million in damages to Azma.
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Defamation