ISLAMABAD: PPP co-chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari has served a legal notice on leading businessman Sadaruddin Hashwani for allegedly defaming him in his recently published book, Truth Always Prevails.

Besides Mr Hashwani, the notice has also been sent to the publisher and distributor, the Penguin Books in Haryana (India) and Liberty Books in Karachi, respectively.

Senator Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Mr Zardari, told Dawn on Sunday that through the notice, served through former law minister Farooq Naek, the former president had asked Mr Hashwani, the chairman of the Hashoo Group, and the publishers to “immediately withdraw the book from bookstores, end the defamation campaign and give a written assurance within 14 days to this effect”.

Through the notice, Mr Zardari has threatened to initiate a “criminal suit” against Mr Hashwani and the publishers for “wilfully publishing a false, derogatory and vexatious publication full of blatant lies to damage his reputation”.

He has also demanded Rs1 billion as compensation if the demands are not complied with within 14 days.

“Mr Zardari is entitled for Rs500 million in damages for loss of reputation and another Rs500m for mental agony and torture,” the notice says.

Mr Babar said the former president had decided to donate the receipts to charity.

“The cumulative direct effect of the distortions in the book is to tarnish the reputation of Asif Ali Zardari and negate all his contributions to the state and society of Pakistan. The book is a brainwave of an irresponsible person full of malice aimed at not only tarnishing the image of Mr Zardari but also of the PPP and its workers,” the notice says.

When asked as to which parts of the book had forced the PPP co-chairman to take Mr Hashwani to the court, Mr Babar said the thrust of the whole narrative given in it was to paint Mr Zardari black.

He said Mr Hashwani had even indirectly held the former president responsible for the Marriott bombing incident.

Mr Hashwani is the owner of leading five-star hotels, including the Marriott in Islamabad which suffered a terrorist attack in September 2008, killing over 50 people.

Mr Babar said the author had also alleged that Mr Zardari was forcing him to sell some properties at lower than the market price.

He said the legal notice had been sent after a thorough discussion within the party. He said the PPP believed that the book contained a lot of “absurd material” and “if its sale goes on a rise after the legal notice, it will also expose obvious absurdity among the readers”.

The notice says that Mr Zardari believes in complete freedom of speech as guaranteed in Article 19 of the Constitution.

“However, the statements made in the book without proper investigation and verification were not made in the spirit of freedom of expression but were made irresponsibly and with ulterior motive.

In the event you fail to meet this demand, please be advised that our client has asked us to communicate to you that he will pursue all available legal remedies, including seeking monetary damages to initiate criminal proceedings under the law.”

The notice, which appears to be a short biography of Mr Zardari, contains complete details of his “achievements”.

Replying to a question, Mr Babar said it was necessary to “reconnect” the past and to drive home the point that “the book is no more than deja vu and part of the decades-old slanderous campaign” against the PPP leadership.

The notice says that the former president restored the democratic constitution, took the unprecedented decision to voluntarily abdicate his powers and transfer them to parliament, forged consensus for the 7th NFC Award and provincial autonomy to address misgivings of smaller provinces, launched the Benazir Income Support Programme to end poverty and inspired legislative pieces seeking to end tyrannising women.

The history of the political victimisation and torture of the party’s leaders and workers, according to the notice, goes back to July 5, 1977 when elected prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was dismissed, arrested and finally “judicially executed”.

“The remnants of Zia and the anti-democratic forces continued to conspire and illegally dismissed the duly elected PPP governments in 1990 and 1996 followed by registration of false cases against them. Bankers, businessmen, bureaucrats, family members and personal staff of the PPP leaders were arrested, tortured and offered inducements to give perjured statements or face financial and personal ruin.”

The notice also carries details of how Mr Zardari was tortured while in police custody through “sleep deprivation for several days and making him stand for hours with a bright light shining into his eyes”.

It also narrates the incident in which Mr Zardari’s neck and tongue were allegedly slashed in 1999.

When contacted, a spokesman for the Hashoo Group refused to give any official comment, saying: “We will come out with something in a day or two, after deliberating upon the matter.”

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2014