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Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday made an appearance before a Lahore court in his Rs10 billion defamation lawsuit against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former premier Imran Khan.

According to the details, PM Shehbaz appeared through video link before a sessions court as Additional Sessions Judge Yilmaz Ghani conducted the hearing.

As proceedings continued, the premier took an oath to “speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”. He also read out the part that said if he concealed anything, may Allah be displeased with him.

During cross-examination, Khan’s lawyer Advocate Muhammad Hussain Chotya asked the PM if he had a copy of the defamation suit before him. “No, I do not have a copy of the defamation case with me at the moment,” the premier replied.

PM Shehbaz then requested a short break, saying, “Please allow me a brief moment… my legal team is sending over a copy.”

The court accepted the request and granted a short recess.

The defamation suit to the tune of Rs10 billion was filed by PM Shehbaz over what he says were false and damaging statements made by Imran Khan. It stems from Khan’s claims that in 2017, Shehbaz had offered him Rs10 billion through an intermediary to drop the Panama Papers case.

The premier had during an earlier appearance in April also responded to questions posed by the defence counsel. He had acknowledged that while the statements were made during televised programs, no media personnel or TV channels were named as parties in the lawsuit.

PM Shehbaz had said he could not recall which city the programs were aired from nor did he confirm any direct confrontation with the former PTI chairman regarding the allegations.

Shehbaz had also verified that he personally signed the lawsuit and that an oath commissioner validated the filing. He had admitted to uncertainty over whether he was the president of the PML-N at the time of the alleged incident but confirmed that Khan was the head of his party and a political rival during that period.

Days after announcing that the United States (US) had mediated a ceasefire between Pakistan and India as tensions ran alarmingly high between the nuclear-armed neighbours, President Donald Trump has gone on to praise the Pakistanis as “brilliant people” and said that “no one can overlook them”.

“They are brilliant people,” Trump said in an interview with US-based Fox News, adding that Pakistanis couldn’t be forgotten or overlooked because it took “two to tango”.

The US president’s statements came a week after his announcement that Washington had successfully averted what could have been a nuclear war between Pakistan and India. The military confrontation between the two countries had come as New Delhi blamed Islamabad for an attack on tourists in held Kashmir’s Pahalgam area.

On the night of May 6-7, India had launched a series of airstrikes in Punjab and Azad Kashmir, resulting in civilian casualties. The move had resulted in a decisive response by Pakistan which saw the downing of at least five Indian jets and damage to multiple military targets across the border.

As tit-for-tat strikes continued, American intervention had pushed both sides to finally drop their guns with President Trump on May 10 announcing that a ceasefire had been reached.

“The situation had escalated to the point where nuclear war could have broken out,” Trump said Friday.

The US president added that he had great conversations with Pakistan and the country would love to trade with the US. “They are brilliant people. They make amazing products. We don’t do enough trading with them.”

On trade with New Delhi, Trump said that India was one of the highly tariffed nations, making it almost “impossible to do business”. However, India is ready to cut 100 per cent of its tariffs for the US, he added.

The interview was the third time in a week that President Trump expressed his intentions of deepening trade ties with Pakistan and India.

“We’re going to do a lot of trade with Pakistan […] and India,” Trump said earlier this week, recalling that he warned both countries of “not doing any trade” if they did not stop fighting.

A day after the ceasefire, he said he was going “to increase trade substantially with both of these great nations”.

During Friday’s interview, Trump also said that mediating a ceasefire between Pakistan and India was a “bigger success” than he’ll ever be given credit for. “Those are major nuclear powers. Those are not like a little bit, and they were angry.”

Days after Pakistan received second tranche of $1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) amid military clashes with India, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi has said that the global lender “should reconsider” its loan amid allegations of “terror financing”.

At least 70 people were killed as tensions between Pakistan and India reached a record high, resulting in the worst military violence in decades before a ceasefire was mediated by the United States (US) last Saturday.

The escalation came after a terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam area of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK) last month. While New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing terror groups, the country categorically denied any involvement and offered a transparent probe into the attack. Despite the offer, India attempted to violate Pakistan’s sovereignty through cross-border attacks that led to military confrontation resulting in a befitting response from this side of the border.

Despite India’s objections, the IMF last week approved a loan programme review for Pakistan, unlocking a $1 billion payment which the state bank said has already been received. A fresh $1.4 billion loan was also approved under the IMF’s climate resilience fund.

India, which also represents Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh on the IMF board, abstained from the review vote with a statement from its finance ministry stating that “concerns over the efficacy of IMF programmes in case of Pakistan given its poor track record”.

“India was the lone country which tried to stop it and it failed. It again reflects Indian frustration. Trying to criticise an institution like IMF speaks about this desperation,” reports quoted Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan as saying.

“I believe a big portion of the $1 billion coming from IMF will be used for funding terror infrastructure,” Indian defence minister said while addressing troops at an air force base Friday. “I believe any economic assistance to Pakistan is nothing less than funding terror,” he added as Indian government members continue attempting to cash in on the conflict.

Meanwhile, Pakistani officials highlight how Islamabad and New Delhi, over the past seven decades, have gained nothing but miseries from wars.

Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has offered India to sit for a comprehensive dialogue to settle contentious issues including Kashmir and jointly fight terrorism, reminding New Delhi that the neighbouring countries fought three wars in the past and gained nothing but miseries of the people.

“After settling disputes like Kashmir and water distribution, we can talk on trade and counter-terrorism as Pakistan is the worst affected country by terrorism which lost 90,000 lives and over $150 billion economic losses,” the premier said on Friday.

He was addressing a ceremony marking Youm-e-Tashakkur [Thanksgiving Day] as the nation celebrated Pakistan’s victory in the recent clashes with India.