Former Special Assistant to PM Khan (SAPM) Zulfi Bukhari sent a defamation notice to Rawalpindi Commissioner Syed Gulzar Hussain on Friday. The charges were on the basis of Gulzar Hussain’s mention of Zulfi Bukhari in the Rawalpindi Ring Road Project (RRRP) scam.
The defamation notice was personally shared by Zulfi Bukhari on his Twitter. The notice demands that Gulzar Hussain pay damages of at least Rs 1,000,000,000 as per the Defamation Ordinance, 2002.
The RRRP scam first emerged in May. An inquiry confirmed that changes were made to the actual plan of the project. The changes increased the cost of the project by Rs 25 billion, thus benefitting some influential figures.
The influential figures allegedly included SAPM on Overseas Pakistanis Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari and Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan.
Read more: The vicious circle of Rawalpindi Ring Road
Sayed Bukhari resigned from his position after being named. Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan also offered to quit politics if corruption charges proved against him. The Aviation Minister, however, rejected the allegations.
Furthermore, the fact-finding committee for the RRRP was also disbanded. This left the investigation of the mega corruption scandal pending
The Committee comprised of Commissioner Rawalpindi Syed Gulzar Hussain Shah, Additional Commissioner Rawalpindi Jahangir Ahmed, and Deputy Commissioner Anwar-ul-Haq.
Read more: Rawalpindi Ring Road inquiry: Is the former commissioner being made a scapegoat?
The defamation notice
Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan recently stated that Bukhari had nothing to do with the scam. He also added that the former SAPM was also not being investigated.
Therefore, on Friday Zulfi Bukhari took to Twitter to announce that he has officially taken Syed Gulzar Hussain Shah to court.
“As promised, I will not stand and watch lies propagate. I have officially taken Commissioner Rawalpindi to court for Ring Road Report where he will have to prove why he wrote I ‘augmented’ influence without any proof,” the former SAPM wrote.
As promised,I WILL NOT stand& watch lies propagate.
I’ve officially taken Commissioner Rwp Gulzar Shah to court for #RingRoadReport where he’ll have to prove:”Why he wrote in the report I ‘augmented’ influence w/o any proof"
Let nation & courts hear reasons behind the allegation! pic.twitter.com/qNMDfWXG5M— Sayed Z Bukhari (@sayedzbukhari) July 9, 2021
Zulfi Bukhari also shared the defamation notice issued by his lawyer Mustafa Aftab A. Sherpao, asking Gulzar Hussain Shah to submit his reply within 14 days.
The notice also asked Gulzar Shah to retract the statement attributed to Zulfi in the report, openly seek an apology from him, and also issue a rebuttal of the statement attributed to the plaintiff.
Read more: SAPM – more than a buzzword?