Shehbaz Sharif's lawsuit against Daily Mail set for hearing in UK court

LONDON (Dunya News) – President Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Mian Shehbaz Sharif’s lawsuit against British newspaper Daily Mail is set for hearing in the London High Court. Shehbaz had accused that an article in the newspaper has caused serious harm to his personal and professional reputation.

Dunya News Head of international news operations Azhar Javaid confirmed that Shehbaz Sharif and his son-in-law have filed lawsuits against Daily Mail in London High Court. He said that both cases are ongoing and SAPM Shahbaz Gill’s comments on the sub judice matter could come under contempt of court.

The next step in the case would be that the London High Court would select a Judge to conduct hearings of the case. Azhar Javaid said that Shehbaz Sharif’s assets are declared and he has also filed his annual returns as a parliamentarian.

Previously, according to court papers obtained by Dunya News, Shehbaz Sharif had paid £10,528 in court fee but he had not specified how much he was seeking in legal damages.

Shehbaz Sharif had sent legal notices to Daily Mail and journalist David Rose in January 2020 after a story appeared in the newspaper in July 2019, accusing former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif and his family of embezzling millions of pounds out of £500 million aid lent by the Department for International Development (DFID) for 2005 earthquake victims.

In his suit, Shehbaz Sharif says that defendant failed to satisfy the most basic tenet of responsible journalism by making any reasonable attempt to obtain comment from him prior to publication.