PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar has failed to reach a settlement with inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar and Rural Development Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob in a defamation suit she filed against them.

Following this, the matter will go for trial for three days beginning Aug 9.

Judicial commissioner Faizah Jamaludin fixed the date in chambers after parties failed to reach a settlement.

Senior federal counsel Normastura Ayob for the IGP and Ismail said they failed to agree to the terms offered by Nurul Izzah today.

The judge also allowed the application for her father Anwar Ibrahim to testify in court.

"Order is allowed in terms," says Nurul Izzah's lawyer Shahid Adli Kamarudin. 

Yesterday, Faizah directed parties to explore mediation before trial begins as the they had not gone through the process.

The hearing of the suit was supposed to begin yesterday but Nurul Izzah's lead counsel Sivarasa Rasiah told reporters that it would make an objection to the Attorney-General's Chambers representing Ismail.

Normastura reiterated that they will represent Ismail as he was there at the function in his capacity as a minister.

Shahid said he will consider filing a formal application following the assertion made by the prosecution.

He said that their position is that Ismail was at the function as an Umno leader and it had nothing to do with the ministerial post.

Nurul Izzah, who is Lembah Pantai Member of Parliament, had filed the suit against Khalid and Ismail Sabri in Nov 2015, over statements allegedly made by them after the appearance of a photograph showing her with self-styled Sulu princess Jacel Kiram.

She claimed that Khalid had allegedly uttered slanderous words against her during a press conference at the Bukit Aman police headquarters on Nov 22, last year, while Ismail Sabri had uttered similar defamatory words during a media event in his Bera parliamentary constituency in Pahang on the same day.

In her statement of claim, Nurul Izzah said the words implied, among others, that she was involved in the Sulu intrusion in Sabah in 2013.

Following that she is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages.