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In addition to withdrawing all allegations of corruption against Shehbaz Sharif and his son-in-law Imran Ali Yousaf, Daily Mail apologised to Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday.
The article by David Rose was also taken down by the British publication from all platforms used by Mail publishers.
The British publication has been unable to back up the claims made against Premier Shehbaz by journalist David Rose regarding the alleged misappropriation of public funds.
Since the report’s publication, the prime minister has insisted that he did nothing wrong and has also filed a legal challenge against the claim in the UK, leading the Daily Mail to issue an apology.
The Mail Online clarified that its article on PM Shehbaz, “Did the family of Pakistani politician who has become the poster boy for British overseas aid STEAL funds intended for earthquake victims,” appeared on July 14, 2019, and that it was published.
According to the statement, the money under “investigation included a not insignificant sum of British public money that had been paid to the Punjab province in DFID grant aid” according to the report, which was based on a National Accountability Bureau investigation into PM Shehbaz.
“We accept Mr Sharif has never been accused by the National Accountability Bureau of any wrongdoing in relation to British public money or DFID grant aid. We are pleased to make this clear and apologise to Mr Sharif for this error,” the clarification read.
The report
Prime Minister Shehbaz was charged in July 2019 by the UK’s Daily Mail with “embezzling tens of millions of pounds of public money and laundering it in Britain.”
The report stated that “some of the allegedly stolen money came from DFID-funded aid projects,” citing Pakistani investigators.
The newspaper was given exclusive access to “some of the results of a high-level probe ordered by [then] prime minister Imran Khan,” according to the report titled “Did the family of Pakistani politician who has become the poster boy for British overseas aid STEAL funds meant for earthquake victims, asks DAVID ROSE.”
Additionally, according to Daily Mail, “key witnesses held on remand in jail, including a UK citizen Aftab Mehmood,” were interviewed.
“He claims he laundered millions on behalf of Shahbaz’s family from a nondescript office in Birmingham — without attracting suspicion from Britain’s financial regulators, who inspected his books regularly.”
