Shehbaz files defamation suit against British tabloid

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif announced on Thursday he was filing a defamation suit against a British tabloid, Mail on Sunday, that published a story against him in July 2019, accusing him of siphoning off money from the Department of International Development’s funds for 2005 earthquake victims in Pakistan.
Addressing a news conference in London, Sharif called the article “politically motivated” and claimed it was filed on the behest of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The PML-N leader said the government did not realize it was defaming the country by leveling such allegations against him.
Written by journalist David Rose, the article quoted the government’s Asset Recovery Unit’s chief, Shahzad Akbar, to substantiate the claims about the alleged financial embezzlement. Akbar later appeared on television talk shows in his country, challenging Sharif to file the lawsuit against the British publication if he had not done anything wrong.
The Mail on Sunday’s story was quickly refuted by the UK’s Department of International Development that pointed out that the tabloid had provided “little substantial evidence to support” its claims. “The UK taxpayer got exactly what it paid for and helped the vulnerable victims of a devastating earthquake. We are confident our robust systems protected UK taxpayers from fraud,” it added.
On Thursday, Sharif’s lawyers said their client was “a leading politician and public figure in Pakistan” and the Mail on Sunday story – along with the subsequent social media claim launched by its writer – was “highly defamatory.” They added their client wanted to clear his name and sought “the withdrawal of the allegations and an unreserved and unambiguous apology” from the publication.
The lawyers also explained that the court may take up the case any time within this year.

Shehbaz files defamation suit against British tabloid