SHC seeks reply from Zohaib Hasan in damages suit filed by Nazia Hassan’s widower

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday issued notice to Zohaib Hassan on damages claim filed by Mirza Ishtiaq Baig, widower of Pakistan’s pop music sensation Nazia Hassan.

Baig had approached the court to claim damages of Rs1 billion from his brother-in-law Zohaib for making ‘false and defamatory statements against him regarding the death of his wife.

The suit came up for an initial hearing before Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi who ordered Zohaib to appear before the court or ask his lawyer to file a detailed reply on October 7.

Till October 7, the court also restrained Zohaib from making any statement about the issue.

Invoking the original jurisdiction of SHC, the plaintiff stated that the defendant had been consistently using defamatory remarks and imputations via different media channels.

Baig specifically named a private news channel, which he claimed, aired an interview of the defendant and later loaded it on various social media platforms on August 13, 2021.

Baig, who is also an honorary consul general of Morocco and recipient of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, claimed that the defendant had been alleging that her sister died of unnatural causes. He added that the statements created imputation of some culpability on Baid which was defamatory.

He further claimed that Nazia died after a prolonged illness as she was suffering from cancer that was evident from her death certificate issued by United Kingdom authorities.

“The defendant’s statements are not only defamatory but also manipulating facts regarding the plaintiff in order to defame and blackmail him for privileges and benefits,” stated Baig.

The plaintiff repudiated the claims of the defendant that her sister was divorced by the plaintiff and was suffering emotional abuse and was Baig’s captive at his home.

Baig attached with his plea various documents purportedly issued by the UK authorities to show that the pop music sensation of the 80s died a natural death and claims of administering her some kind of poison were wrong.

Baig, along with the plaint, had also filed an application parrying the court to restrain the defendant from further issuing defamatory remarks against him.