Businessman Umar Farooq Zahoor has filed a defamation notice against a Norwegian publication for publishing an article suggesting he was nominated for the Hilal-e-Imtiaz for his role in the Toshakhana case against Imran Khan.
According to a report in The News, Zahoor has sued Verdens Gang (VG) tabloid and its reporter Rolf John Wideroe, accusing them of Islamophobia, racism and xenophobia.
The article in VG has quoted a report in the Express Tribune to say that Zahoor was being awarded the honor for ‘exposing’ the Toshakhan case.
Zahoor had appeared on a TV interview in 2022 to claim that he had bought a Graff watch from Imran Khan that had been gifted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. Khan was later sentenced to jail in the case.
However, Zahoor has claimed in his lawsuit that he was actually nominated for the Hilal-e-Imtiaz for bringing ‘hundreds of millions of dollars’ in foreign investment.
The VG article claimed that Zahoor is wanted in Norway for a fraud involving Nordea bank of ‘around NOK 60 million’ in 2010. The article quoted Norway’s State Attorney Carl Graff Hartmann as saying that Norway has tried to arrest Zahoor for a long time.
However, Zahoor claimed that the he cooperated with authorities in good faith and the investigation has already been closed. Zahoor has claimed that he has letters from Norwegian authorities from 2020 and 2021 proving that the case is closed.
Read more: Watches, cars and pineapples: Toshakhana records made public
Toshakhana watch: Conflicting claims of buyer and seller’s identity
Finally, the tabloid article reported that Equitorial Guinea President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo awarded a medal to Zahoor last year.
Calling, Mbasogo one of the most corrupt presidents in the world, the tabloid VG said that Zahoor was awarded the medal for bringing investment into the country. The article added that Zahoor ahd been involved in a scandal involving sale of gas turbines.
However, Zahoor’s lawsuit says that the article tried to falsely link the award he received in Guinea to the award he has been nominated for in Pakistan and tried to claim that the first award is somehow linked to President Mbasogo’s alleged corruption.
Stating that Zahoor has an ‘impeccable reputation’, the case asks VG to “immediately withdraw your article published against our client and publish an official apology” for “defaming our client through misreporting and distorting facts” or face civil and criminal action.
Zahoor is set to be awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz on March 23, next year.
