Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Chaudhry Salik Hussain has submitted a reply to a Rs5 billion damages notice issued by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz over allegations of corruption in Punjab, Dunya News reported on Monday.
Sources confirmed that the federal minister has sent his reply to the legal notice. However, the details of his response, including his legal arguments and the position he has taken, have not yet been made public.
Chaudhry Salik Hussain had confirmed receiving the legal notice on November 6, stating that he would respond to it. On November 11, he further said that his reply had been prepared and would be made public within a few days.
According to sources, the response has now been formally sent, marking further progress in the legal dispute between the two political figures.
The notice was issued by the Punjab chief minister after Hussain levelled allegations of corruption in Punjab, an episode that has drawn attention across the political landscape in recent days.
Hussain, a federal minister in the coalition government, and Maryam Nawaz, who leads the Punjab government, are now engaged in a formal legal exchange that began with the damages notice and has continued with the minister’s written reply.
A defamation notice is generally the first formal step in such disputes, giving the recipient an opportunity to respond before any court proceedings begin. The reply submitted by Hussain is therefore a key stage in the process, even though its contents remain undisclosed for now.
Meanwhile, the contents of the written reply, the defence presented by the federal minister and the possible next steps in the legal proceedings remain undisclosed, and further details are awaited from both sides.
Neither side has so far released the text of the notice or the reply, leaving the precise arguments and positions of both parties unclear at this stage.
The development is expected to remain in focus in the coming days as both sides decide their next steps, with the possibility that the contents of the reply may be shared publicly once either party chooses to do so.
