A serving Pakistan Army officer has filed a defamation suit against U.K.-based Maj. (retd.) Adil Raja at the London High Court over a “campaign” against him on YouTube and Twitter.
Petitioner Brig. Rashid Naseer, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) sector commander in Punjab, filed the defamation case over a “defamatory campaign” against him on both YouTube and Twitter that was launched on June 14, 2022. According to Geo News, Raja—who is currently in self-exile in the U.K.—commenced his “campaign” in a posting on Twitter in which he alleged the brigadier had “taken complete occupation of the Lahore High Court” to rig by-elections for the Punjab Assembly.
Less than a week later, on June 19, Raja alleged on Twitter that the “sector commander had several meetings with Zardari during the latter’s current stay in Lahore” and shared a link to a YouTube video titled “Elections Manipulation.” The YouTuber has further alleged that Brig. Naseer was “controlling” large sums of money to ensure the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s loss in the by-elections, which the party won 15 of 20 seats in. Similarly, he has alleged that the military officer was involved in “horse-trading” on the behalf of former Army chief Gen. (retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa; registering fake cases against him in Punjab; and being an agent of the “regime change” plan.
According to Geo News, the serving military officer filed a case against Raja through his U.K. lawyers on Aug. 11, 2022. It said the lawyers had informed the London High Court that Raja “conducted a determined and prolific social media campaign against the claimant publishing very many tweets and videos, many of which are seriously defamatory of the claimant, and all of which, by reason of their content, tone and frequency, have caused the claimant serious harm.”
Denying all the allegations, Brig. Naseer has maintained that Raja’s remarks have caused “serious harm” to his reputation, and would likely cause further harm in future. He has also maintained that all the information provided is fake and there is no justification for its publication/broadcast.
Confirming the defamation case to Geo News, Raja claimed his information was “provided by highly placed sources within the Pakistani establishment.” Lamenting that a case was filed against him by a “fellow officer,” he claimed all his broadcasts were made in the “public interest.”