LONDON: The UK High Court refused the retired army commander and dissident vlogger Adil Farooq Raja’s request to halt the proceedings in the defamation lawsuit filed by a former senior military officer. The trial was scheduled for April 2025.
Retired Brigadier Rashid Naseer filed a defamation complaint against YouTuber Raja in August 2022. The suit was made public last week after the respondent caused a sensation in Pakistan due to his claims that prominent TV and film women were being targeted.
The campaign of Mr. Raja against Mr. Naseer appears to have begun on June 14, 2022, according to a court ruling, when the latter claimed that the latter “has taken complete occupation of the Lahore High Court ‘to rig the upcoming elections’.”
The High Court of Justice, King’s bench division published an order last week in the media and communications list before Richard Spearman KC, a deputy high court judge. In it, the court outlines the accusations made by Mr. Raja and first interprets them.
According to the claim, the case revolves around ten publications, which include the following: that the claimant (Mr. Naseer) had taken over the Lahore High Court, that the claimant met with Asif Ali Zardari on multiple occasions to discuss election manipulation, that the claimant established an election cell in the Lahore “sector headquarters” that was in charge of gathering information on the progress of PDM and PML-N candidates and pressuring local influencers against PTI, that the claimant was abusing his position, and that the claimant is directly involved in political interference.
Nine of the ten charges, according to the judgment, are defamatory to the claimant under common law, and the phrases that were complained of were stated as truth. Mr. Raja will need to provide evidence to support the claims he made against the claimant during the trial.
The order approved Mr. Raja’s request to anonymize witnesses during the exchange of witness statements and outlined the administrative procedures for exchanging disclosure documents and witness statements.
Although the penal code contains various sections relevant to defamation cases, Pakistan does not have strong rules against defamation. However, Pakistanis who have been defamed in the UK in recent years—either by a UK-based publisher or by an individual—have come to these courts to resolve their defamation cases.
Shehbaz Sharif, the head of the Pakistan Muslim League, and prominent figure Ishaq Dar have both brought defamation suits against articles published here. When the magazine decided not to proceed with a trial, these people obtained apology letters.
In the UK, defamation trials can run into the tens of thousands of pounds at the very least. A number of lawsuits involving Pakistanis have been resolved out of court when the defendant issues an apology or agrees to compensate the plaintiff for losses.
