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London
A British court rejected Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's plea for an adjournment in a defamation case filed against the newspaper Daily Mail. The court also refused to give the Pakistan premier more time and demanded an immediate response.
Justice Matthew Nicklin of the London High Court of Justice, hearing the case, threw away the petition and ordered the duo to submit a response and deposit the said amount by November 23.
If Sharif and his son-in-law Imran Ali Yousaf's statement are not deemed to comply with the law, they will have to pay the defendant i.e Daily Mail $35,000 (£30,000) as litigation costs incurred during the case.
âThe first claimant [Sharif] must pay the defendantâs [paperâs] costs of and occasioned by a) the stay application b) his original reply (including the costs arising from the process by which extensions of time were sought and agreed in respect of the same,â read the judgement.
If @cmshebaz's amended reply is deemed not to comply with the requirements set down by law next month, his action will be struck out. See para 4. If that happened, he would have to pay all our costs since he brought the case. The same would be true if he and Ali Imran withdrew.
â David Rose (@DavidRoseUK) November 11, 2022
Read more: Nawaz Sharif receives diplomatic passport. Is he returning from exile to Pakistan?
Reportedly, the court was hearing a petition filed by Sharif, seeking a stay order in a defamation case brought by him against the publication two years ago.
In 2020, Sharif claimed that the publication had levelled 'grotesque allegations' against him in a story.
WATCH | Pakistan | Imran: Shehbaz Sharif involved in attack plot; PM Sharif calls for probe
Reportedly, in July 2019, a story appeared in the newspaper which accused Shehbaz, the former Punjab chief minister and his family of stealing and laundering millions of pounds of the £500 million aid money given by the Department for International Development (DFID) for the victims of Pakistanâs 2005 earthquake.
âThe article is gravely defamatory of Shehbaz, including false allegations that he misappropriated UK taxpayersâ money in the form of Department for International Development (DFID) aid intended for the victims of the devastating 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. Shehbaz denies these allegations,â read the legal notice served by Shehbaz's counsel to Daily Mail at the time.
(With inputs from agencies)
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