ISLAMABAD: After the government derectives NADRA, on Wednesday, decided to  register a case against British tabloid The Sun in British courts, calling its Olympics passport scam report “false propaganda.”

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira, while speaking to media, said “a dirty propaganda was unleashed against Pakistan.”

“The federal cabinet ordered the Nadra to file a defamation suit (against the paper) after consulting the law ministry,” Kaira added

He also took a swipe at the paper, saying it “does not have a good reputation”.

According to sources, the lawsuit to be filed will be for Rs10 billion in damages.

The cabinet also ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to halt investigations pertaining to Olympics visa scam cases in light of its recent decision to file a lawsuit against the aforementioned tabloid.

The decision for filing the lawsuit was taken after NADRA Chairman Muhammad Tariq Malik briefed the cabinet.

Details will be given in the cabinet briefing.

On the other side,

The Sun newspaper said that it will defend itself robustly if a legal action was initiated by the Pakistani government after the Federal Cabinet in Islamabad decided to sue the tabloid for its Olympic passport scam reporting, raising the spectre of terrorist infiltration into Britain from Pakistan.

Sources said that, the paper was fully satisfied that it had strong evidence and decided to publish the story in public interest.”

“We will defend our story in the courts if a legal action is initiated,” newspaper sources said.

In a highly alarming front page story on Monday, backed by a video on the paper’s website, the paper claimed to have busted a Lahore-based crime ring involved in issuing fake passports and visas, giving potential terrorists a chance to sneak into Britain with Pakistan’s Olympic delegation. (agencies)