My publications were in public interest, Adil Raja tells UK court

LONDON: Former Pakistan Army Major (retired) Adil Raja has told the UK High Court his claims and publications about the former sector commander Brigadier (retired) Rashid Naseer were in the public interest as the trial judge stated that Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was not on the trial at the UK High Court as the case was between two individuals — Adil Raja vs Rashid Naseer.

Adil Raja appeared at the London High Court by video link to continue giving his evidence in day three of the defamation case brought against him by Brigadier (retired) Rashid Naseer.

Rashid Naseer’s counsel and London High Court Deputy Judge Richard Spearman KC asked Raja a series of questions during cross examination about the way he conducted his work as a journalist and about the nine publications over which Rashid Naseer is suing him.

Raja conceded that he had not produced any documentary evidence for the trial, but maintained his position that he relied on his anonymous sources, which he said were high-ranking people in the intelligence services and the government.

He also informed the court at numerous times that his publications were in the public interest and that he had verified and cross checked everything before publishing.

As things heated up on the third day of the trial, London High Court Deputy Judge Richard Spearman KC made it clear that the ongoing defamation trial was about two individuals (Rashid Naseer versus Adil Raja) and had nothing to do with the alleged rights or wrongs of the Pakistani intelligence service the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the military or the government and that the ISI was not on the trial.

As Adil Raja spoke about election manipulation and the complexities of Pakistani society and the establishment’s role, the Judge stated he understood how relevant this case is for Pakistan and the passion involved, but the case cannot be won by talking about the “big picture” of Pakistani politics as the allegations are specific about the claimant.

Adil Raja was cross-examined for nearly the whole day by Counsel David Lemer for Rashid Naseer about the Tweets, YouTube and Facebook video he had published.

At the heart of the case are nine publications. Raja made numerous accusations against Rashid Naseer in these nine publications.

Adil Raja told the court that the allegations he made about Rashid Naseer were passed to him by credible sources in the Government and intelligence services and he had verified and cross-checked before publishing the material and took due care as a journalist and that all his publications were in the public interest.

The Judge asked Adil Raja to explain what steps he took before publishing the statements on his social media accounts and what were his methods of obtaining, verifying, cross checking and authenticating the sources – and most importantly, if he took notes and kept written records of the information he was getting from the sources.

Adil Raja replied: “My sources are based here and in Pakistan. I use layers to protect them. The information comes from sources in Pakistan to the layers in the UK who then pass the information to me.”

He said he did this in order to protect his sources from harassment as they are placed at the highest levels in government and intelligence in Pakistan and revealing their identity would put them at risk of abductions and torture.

Adil Raja showed two notebooks to the Judge on screen and said he had kept the written record of messages he received from sources but when asked if he had any notes about the publications complained about in June 2022, he said he did not think he had any such notes.

Counsel David Lemer put to Raja that the official fact-finding report of Pakistan in respect to the murder of Arshad Sharif (which Raja put in as evidence) made no reference that the ISI was behind the killing of Arshad Sharif in Kenya but Raja said that there were clear references to the persons in the reports working for the spy agency who had played their alleged role in registering a case against the slain journalist.

Raja was also asked why he claimed that the Pakistani intelligence wanted to assassinate him in the UK when the letter and witness statement from the UK police only mentioned threats to his life, without any mention of the ISI or any assassination plot. Raja said there was no mention of the Pakistani spy agency, but he had no doubt who wanted him assassinated.

“This is yet another example of you exaggerating and making false claims. No surprise that you received threats online but it’s plainly false to say Pakistan ISI and military want to kill you,” suggested the Counsel. Adil Raja said he maintained his position.

“Are you suggesting I am making up my sources? What I have reported is based on ground realities of Pakistan, my credibility is built on the veracity of my sources. That’s why people listen to me and that’s why I have managed to raise money through crowd-funding,” Raja responded.

Adil Raja accepted he made no effort to contact Rashid Naseer before publishing allegations against him because he said he was unapproachable but said he asked the ISPR to respond but received no reply.

In examining the nine publications, Counsel David Lemer and Adil Raja went through each and every publication. The counsel put it to Adil Raja that there was no evidence of any of the allegations he made and that he relied on non-existent sources to which Raja replied that it was not true. The counsel also put it to Raja that he was exaggerating which he denied and said that the statements he published were in the public interest. 

Adil Raja’s lawyer agreed not to plead the truth defence but the public interest defence is being pleaded, in which statements made by a journalist, acquired through sources, are believed to be true and are shared in the public interest.

The trial continues and is likely to finish today.