Adil Raja denies making false claims, relies on public interest defence

LONDON: Former serviceman Major (retd) Adil Farooq Raja has denied making false and exaggerated allegations against Brigadier (retd) Rashid Naseer in his social media posts, including the claims about journalist Arshad Sharif’s killing in Kenya and the attempted assassination of former prime minister Imran Khan.

Counsel David Lemer questioned Adil Raja on the second day of the trial and suggested to him that he left the army in a low-ranking position as a major and didn’t have access to the kind of information that is available to the senior officers. Raja countered and said that he was a field commander, was involved in several military operations and headed the media wing of Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society (PESS). He said: “I still am in touch with the silent soldiers, the people who want stability, democracy and progress in Pakistan. I still maintain my sources within the Pakistani institutions.”

Adil Raja appeared via Zoom. At the start of the second day of trial, the judge asked Raja’s lawyer if his client would rely on the truth defence. His lawyer admitted that there is no truth to any of the allegations that the claimant was involved in. Afterwards, the lawyer withdrew the truth defence. The only remaining defence is public interest and privilege.

When asked why he fell out with the PESS and why the PESS issued a statement against him, Adil Raja said the organisation may have issued a statement against him under coercion after he became a vocal critic after leaving Pakistan.

Counsel Lemer asked Raja why he had accused Naseer of being behind the attempted assassination of Imran Khan when the claimant was not accused by anyone including Khan, Raja replied that he believed that the claimant would have followed the orders of his seniors who were named by the ex-premier.

The counsel suggested to Raja that he had limited or no information related to the intelligence, especially after his retirement, and that he had no documentary evidence to back up his claims, Raja accepted he had no documents but had access to very senior level in the intelligence services and that he had documents passed to him that he used to expose many scandals.

The court heard about the use of social media sites such as YouTube by saying extremist and offensive things to make money through virality and breaking news angles. Raja accepted that he published claims about the claimant on his social media platforms, including the YouTube channel, before the channel was terminated, and that he had addressed the claimant with offensive names. “After all, I am a human.

My properties and assets were seized. My friend Arshad Sharif was killed. My mother and sisters suffered. Do you expect me to maintain the highest levels of decency? Yes, I am a supporter of Imran Khan and voted for him. Many in the PTI don’t like me,” he added.

Counsel Lemer asked Raja if he was a political activist strongly supporting the PTI at the time of the alleged defamatory publications, Raja said there was nothing wrong with being an activist and journalist at the same time. “You have an axe to grind when you are an activist because you don’t have an open and investigative mind, because you have an agenda in mind when being a publisher,” asked the counsel about Raja’s tweets and YouTube videos about Brig Naseer.

“I have also exposed PTI’s collaboration with the government, and that’s why they don’t like me. I don’t do views-based programmes anymore," Raja told the court.

The lawyer suggested to Raja that he made false and exaggerated claims about the killing of Arshad Sharif in Kenya and blamed the ISI for his killing when the official report into the murder case made no such finding. Raja referred to a complaint filed by the slain journalist’s mother to the Supreme Court, but the judge interrupted and told Raja he must address the question in the context of the report as it related to the journalistic sources and the journalistic practices. Raja said his claim was based on the inside sources from the ground, and the official reports don’t reveal such things.

The cross-examining lawyer quoted several issues Raja had addressed in his posts — including General Bajwa, anchor Imran Riaz Khan, former PM Imran Khan, the ISI, and anchor Javed Chaudhary — and suggested to him that his publications lacked credibility, facts and proper sources and were full of exaggerations.

The case is based on nine publications. In deciding the meaning of the publications in April 2024, Deputy High Court Judge Richard Spearman KC had ruled that Brig (retd) Naseer was defamed at UK common law when Adil Raja made the following allegations, without any evidence, in the publications in June 2022: (1) Rashid Naseer had taken complete control of the Lahore High Court; (2) Naseer had allegedly had several meetings with Asif Ali Zardari to discuss election manipulation; (3) Naseer will be eliminated at the right time by soldiers working covertly leaking information about the actions and movements of such people; (4) Brigadier Naseer was working against PTI candidates; (5) Naseer is part of a meticulously contrived process set up by military and intelligence officers to rig elections; (6) Naseer has been abusing his position, using huge unaccounted funds to ensure the victory of PDM; (7) Naseer will be abusing his position to harass PTI supporters during the PTI election; (8) Naseer has sinned and destroyed his chances of the promised life in the hereafter; (9) Naseer had caused the police to do his bidding by making a baseless allegation of bribery; (10) Naseer is directly involved in political interference; (11) Brigadier Naseer registered a complaint against Adil Raja in order to defame him; (12) Naseer got Raja’s brother in law arrested; and (13) he played a prominent role in regime change.

Major (retd) Adil Raja denies all these allegations. Raja has been living in the UK since April 2022. Naseer is represented by Counsel David Lemer of Doughty Street Chambers and Ushrat Sultana and Sadia Qureshi of Stone White Solicitors. Major (retd) Raja is represented by Counsel Simon Harding of Gunnercooke LLP.

Raja’s cross-examination will continue on the third day.