PESHAWAR, Dec 7: Sacked provincial minister and Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) leader Bakht Baidar Khan on Saturday filed a defamation suit with the local district and sessions court against Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan to claim damages to the tune of Rs1 billion for leveling what he called baseless corruption charges.

Mr Bakht, who is the provincial general secretary of QWP, had earlier served a legal notice on Imran Khan on Nov 18, 2013, and asked him to tender apology within 15 days and pay him Rs1 billion as compensation.

The plaintiff`s lawyer, Babar Khan Yousafzai, told reporters that Imran Khan did not respond to his client`s legal notice within the specified time and therefore, the defamation suit had been filed. He said District and Sessions Judge Shehbar Khan was not available on Saturday and therefore, the suit would be taken up for preliminary hearing tomorrow (Monday).

The plaintiff was elected Member of the Provincial Assembly on the ticket of QWP in the May 11 general elections. He along with another provincial minister from QWP, Ibrar Hussain Tanoli, was sacked by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Nov 13 on the directives of Imran Khan. Imran Khan had also announced end to his party`s alliance with QWP.

The plaintiff`s lawyer said his client belonged to a respectable family of Chakdara in Lower Dir district and Imran Khan had damaged his reputation in the eyes of the people, especially those from his constituency.

He said if there were any corruption charges against his client, then he or his parliamentary party leader should have been informed about it, but in the current case, both were kept in the dark and instead his client was defamed by Imran Khan by leveling baseless corruption allegations in the media.

Mr Babar said in the legal notice, his client had asked the PTI chairman to give solid reasons for his sacking from the cabinet and that, too, without prior notice. He said the unceremonious sacking was against principle of natural justice as his client should have been given right of hearing before being fired.

The lawyer said the PTI chairman failed to produce evidence of corruption against his client within the stipulated time of 15 days in the defamation notice.