Shehbaz Sharif Sues Mail On Sunday And Journalist David Rose For Defamation

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif is seeking to clear his name against allegations published by the British tabloid press, having filed a formal defamation suit against the Mail on Sunday newspaper, Mail Online and the journalist who worked brought the allegations to light, David Rose. The defamation suit is being handled by the law firm Carter-Ruck, and has been presented to the London High Court, citing the publication of a "gravely defamatory" story in 2019.

The story claimed that as Chief Minister of Punjab, Sharif had been involved in embezzling funds provided by UK's Department for International Development (DFID) for the rehabilitation of victims of the 2005 earthquake. The story was quickly refuted by Shehbaz Sharif and the PML-N. At the same time, DFID also rejected the claims made in the story, citing “robust systems” that prevent fraud when it is involved in projects. The PML-N leader sent a legal notice around that time to the journalist David Rose, as well as the newspaper.

Speaking at a press conference alongside his British legal team, the PML-N leader now says that since the story has not been removed and can still be accessed online, he is resorting to legal action as intimated earlier to the media group.