Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif and PTI Chairman Imran Khan. Photo: File 

ISLAMABAD: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif sent a Rs10 billion defamation notice to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday.

The notice, which has been filed under sections 4 and 9 of the Defamation Ordinance, 2002, states that Imran falsely accused Shehbaz of making him a financial offer for his 'silence over the Panama Papers case'.

The petition states that ?the facts and circumstances giving rise to the filing of the instant suit are that since the last week of April, 2017, the Defendant [Imran Khan] started uttering, spreading and resorting to the publication, communication and circulation of maliciously false, baseless and unfounded oral statements and representations against the Plaintiff [Shehbaz].?

Moreover, it states that Imran claimed that Shehbaz ?offered to pay a sum of Rs10,000,000,000 to the Defendant in exchange for his withdrawing/backing-off from, or remaining silent on the issue of the Panama Papers' case.?

The suit also states that Imran Khan made the ?utterly false statement? on different television shows as well as at a public gathering.

On April 25, Khan during a gathering at Shaukat Khanum Hospital, Lahore,  alleged that he had been made an offer in the Panama case.

"Just imagine how much money he offered me to be silent ? Rs10 billion! If he can offer me this much money, just imagine how much he could offer to others. That is why if we don't maintain public pressure on this issue, then after two months it will be dragged to the next year," Khan had claimed.

In an interview televised following the statement, Khan refused to reveal the name of the person who made the offer but did state that this person was close to the Punjab chief minister.

Following this, the government decided to take legal action against Imran Khan, sources had told Geo News, adding that a defamation notice would be sent to Imran over his 'false' claims.