Private TV channel apologises to Ishaq Dar over ‘baseless’ allegations

LONDON: Private channel New Vision TV, the broadcaster of ARY UK, has issued an apology to former finance minister Ishaq Dar, saying its allegations of corruption and misuse of power against him were baseless.

In the apology statement aired on October 18, ARY UK accepted that “[Dar] never managed the Financial Monitoring Unit… never impeded [its] work, nor did he do anything to protect anybody in any case including the alleged Choudhury Sugar Mills case”.

“We unconditionally apologise to Mr Ishaq Dar for the significant distress, upset, and embarrassment which these broadcasts have caused him,” BBC Urdu quoted the channel as saying in the statement.

Party spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb also lauded the decision of the UK court and said, “This decision is an example that truth always prevails.”

“We thank Allah for the decision of the British court in favour of Ishaq Dar…When the impartiality of the media is tarnished, public confidence is more damaged,” said the PML-N leader in her tweet.

Dar has been considered one of the most influential people in Sharif’s cabinet. In 2017, Supreme Court had Dar from office after an investigation into the wealth of Nawaz Sharif Dar, who was Sharif’s former accountant, had submitted documents to the Supreme Court about how the Sharif family obtained their wealth that included a portfolio of upscale London properties.