ISLAMABAD: Former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said British tabloid Daily Mail’s apology to his younger brother, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was proof that he and other leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party were innocent of corruption charges.

British newspaper ‘The Mail on Sunday’ and online news website ‘Mail Online’ on Thursday apologized to the Pakistani prime minister for publishing a 2019 report that said he was being investigated by Pakistani authorities for embezzling funds meant for earthquake victims.

Shehbaz Sharif sued the newspaper in 2020, claiming the story was “politically motivated” at the behest of then prime minister Imran Khan and his accountability czar, Mirza Shahzad Akbar. Both denied the allegations.

In its apology, Daily Mail made it clear Shehbaz Sharif was never accused by Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of any wrongdoing in relation to British money or any grant by the UK’s Department of International Development (DfID).

In a video message, the elder Sharif said the apology by the British newspaper carried weight as no political party was in government in the UK and hence, couldn’t influence its decision.

“There is democracy here [in the UK], this country’s newspaper has tendered an apology here,” he said. “What bigger proof can there be of someone’s innocence?”

Sharif said ex-PM Khan “is involved in corruption himself from head to feet”, adding that on the contrary, his younger brother had been given a clean chit by the UK government and a British newspaper.

Sharif was restricted for life from holding any political office by Pakistan’s top court in April 2018, followed by his conviction in a corruption case the same year. He says the cases against him were politically motivated.

He has been living in self-imposed exile in London since 2019, after he was granted bail by a Pakistani court to seek treatment abroad.

“[Politically motivated] cases were registered against us, we had to unnecessarily face exile and face jail time,” he said, adding that charges against him were never proven.

Though Sharif did not speak on the matter, his party has repeatedly said he would return to Pakistan ahead of next year’s general elections to lead the party in the polls.