Magazine apologises to Zardari for report on his ‘secret marriage’

ISLAMABAD: The chief executive officer, publishers and distributors of Hello magazine printed in Dubai have apologised to former president Asif Ali Zardari and withdrawn all copies of the magazine from the bookstalls and online websites, for publishing an admittedly wrong and defamatory piece about the former president.
The unqualified apology came in two separate letters by the publisher and distributors of magazine to Senator Farooq H Naek, counsel for Asif Ali Zardari, who had served notices on them on April 13. Farooq H Naek had served notices for publishing and circulating a defamatory story about the former president’s alleged secret marriage describing it as a criminal act that had damaged the reputation of the former president.
Naek also demanded that copies of the magazine be immediately withdrawn from the market and an apology be published in the next issue of Hello failing which a billion rupee damages’ suit would be filed.Within days, on April 24, Farooq H Naek received formal replies to the notices.
Publisher Zahra Saifullah while offering ‘sincere apologies’ promised to issue a corrigendum in the next issue of Hello, adding that she bore no malice towards Asif Zardari and pleading that the defamation notice be withdrawn.
Separately, the Karachi-based distributors, M/s Liberty Books, wrote to Naek promising ‘to never indulge in such a despicable act’ of tarnishing the reputation of Zardari adding that copies had been withdrawn from the market. “Upon knowing contents of the magazine, immediately removed it from all its outlets and stopped selling the same,” said the letter of chief executive officer of Liberty Books to Farooq Naek pleading that the notice be withdrawn.