Victory for Ishaq Dar in UK defamation case involving PTI leader

• PTI's Faruukh Habib had levelled allegations on TV channel in UK.
• Allegations include "money laundering", "fake accounts" and others. 
• TV channel reaches settlement with Dar, issues apology.

LONDON: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has won a defamation case against a Pakistani private TV channel over false allegations of corruption aired on the channel’s UK station by former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Farrukh Habib.

The allegations of “money laundering”, “criminal activities”, “opening fake accounts” and “running away in Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s plane” were levelled at the time of Dar's return to Pakistan to take over the finance ministry in September 2022.

The TV channel however reached a settlement with Dar and issued an apology, categorically stating that the uninterrupted allegations of criminal activities made by PTI leader Farrukh Habib were “completely false, baseless and untrue”.

The channel apologised to Dar stating that it “deeply” regretted airing false allegations by Habib, the PTI’s former National Assembly member from Faisalabad. 

The channel has also said it confirms that Dar is a man of great credibility and honesty who has never been involved in corruption and has always worked diligently for the betterment of Pakistan.

The finance minister adopted legal course after the channel aired allegations on September 25, 2022 and September 26, 2022 during the programme “Night Edition with Shazia Zeeshan” on TV and YouTube channel.

During the show, Habib asserted that Dar was “returning to Pakistan to collect the proceeds of criminal activities derived from Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz’s time in the government; and that in collusion with the former prime minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, will return to Pakistan to embezzle and launder proceeds derived from illicit activities back to the UK”.