Hello apologises to Zardari over 'secret marriage' story
JournalismPakistan.com | Published: 29 April 2015
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Hello magazine has issued an apology to former President Asif Ali Zardari regarding a defamatory article about his alleged secret marriage. The magazine has withdrawn copies from circulation and promised to publish a correction in the next issue.Summary
ISLAMABAD: Chief Executive Officer, publishers and distributors of Hello magazine printed in Dubai have apologized to former President Asif Ali Zardari (pictured) for publishing a defamatory article about his alleged “secret marriage.”
Management of the publication has pulled out all copies of the magazine from bookstalls and its website besides offering ‘sincere apologies’ after it was served a legal notice by Farooq H Naek, counsel for Zardari.
Publisher Zahra Saifullah also promised to issue a corrigendum in the next issue of Hello, and urged Naek in a letter to withdraw the defamation notice.
The News reported Wednesday that the unqualified apology came in two separate letters by the publisher and distributors of magazine to Senator Farooq Naek, who had served notices on them on April 13 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Naek also demanded that copies of the magazine be immediately withdrawn from the market and an apology be published in the next issue of Hello failing which a billion rupee damages’ suit would be filed. Naek received formal replies to the notices on April 24.
KEY POINTS:
- Hello magazine published a defamatory article about Zardari.
- The publication received a legal notice from Zardari's counsel.
- Management apologized and offered to withdraw all magazine copies.
- A corrigendum will be included in the next issue of Hello.
- Failure to comply could have resulted in a billion rupee lawsuit.
