ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Thursday said the apology tendered by the Daily Mail to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on publishing a false story was a “slap on the face of opponents”.

“No corruption has been proven against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who is vindicated by Almighty Allah,” she said in a news statement.

The minister said it was not only PM Shehbaz Sharif but the entire nation, which stood vindicated today.

She alleged that it was Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and his aide Shahzad Akbar, who had levelled allegations against the Sharif family. They had provided the reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau to the Daily Mail for publishing a false story against the prime minister, she claimed.

Marriyum said Imran Khan had invited David Rose, author of the article published in the British daily, to Pakistan for hatching a conspiracy against Shehbaz Sharif, who had appeared in talks shows for the purpose.

Ironically, allegations of corruption were levelled against the person (Shehbaz Sharif), who had shed "his sweat and blood" for the development of Punjab, she added.

She said the Daily Mail had failed to produce even a single piece of evidence in the court to prove its allegations against PM Shehbaz Sharif, and tender unconditional apology once the trial of the case was completed.

The minister said both Imran Khan and Shahzad Akbar had defamed the opponents to satisfy their egos, and they should now apologise to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the nation.

Marriyum thanked the Almighty for the exoneration of all the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders in the false corruption cases filed by the PTI government.

She said Imran Khan had been creating political instability in the country after coming into power in 2018.