The British journalist has hit back at the PML-N leaders and fans, who had termed his news story on the alleged embezzlement and money laundering by their party chairman Shehbaz Sharif as ‘baseless’ and ‘propaganda campaign.

Dr Firdous, in a tweet, said the " UK journalist has rejected claims of the Sicilian Mafia.It's not like very few media houses / journalists who are paid by PML- N to defend fake news / stories." David Rose, in his report published in the Daily Mail Online on Sunday, reported that Shehbaz Sharif and his family had allegedly embezzled and laundered millions of pounds out of £500 million aid coming from the United Kingdom's Department for International Development during his tenure as chief minister of Punjab.

The journalist on his Twitter account said,"The PMLN trolls in Pakistan are posting a photo of me with Imran Khan, claiming this shows my article about Shehbaz Sharif was ‘planted'.

“The photo was taken last year, when I interviewed him before the election. Here’s the proof,” he said while sharing the web link of the interview published on July 21, 2018 in the same paper.