A senior Pakistani officer went to the London High Court to sue a YouTuber and retired army officer from the UK for defamation and damages.
He was accused of rigging elections against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), trading votes for General (ret.) Qamar Javed Bajwa, and holding secret meetings with PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari to change the results of by-elections in Punjab.
According to Geo News, Brigadier Rashid Naseer, the head of the Pakistan Army’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Punjab, has filed the first defamation case in the UK High Court by a serving Pakistani military officer. He is suing Major (retd) Raja for nearly a dozen YouTube and Twitter posts that make false and ridiculous claims.
According to Pakistani court files, Major (retd) Raja began his campaign against Brigadier Rashid Naseer on June 14, 2022, when he accused ISI’s Sector Commander Punjab of rigging the elections by occupying the Lahore High Court.
Major (ret.) On June 19, 2022, Raja claimed that ISI Sector Commander Punjab Brig Naseer met with Zardari during his current visit to Lahore.
He posted a link to his YouTube video alleging election manipulation.
The court papers also state that Brig. Naseer filed a complaint through his UK solicitors on August 11, 2022, after the retired major made various charges against the senior military officer in viral tweets and videos.
Brigadier Naseer, Sector Commander ISI Internal Wing Punjab, filed a defamation action against Major (ret) Raja, according to Geo News.
Lawyers told the UK High Court that Major (retd) Raja “conducted a determined and prolific social media campaign against the claimant, publishing many Tweets and videos, many of which are seriously defamatory of the claimant, and all of which, because of their content, tone, and frequency, have caused the claimant serious harm.”
In the vlog, Major (ret) Raja accused the serving military official of manipulating and using corrupt tactics to win for the PML-N and PDM in Punjab and Pakistan.
He also accused Brigadier Naseer of meeting Zardari to support Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
Major (ret.) Raja accused the military officer of politics and “horse-trading” for General (ret.) Bajwa, recording phoney cases against him in Punjab, and being a regime change agent.
In his defamation claim, the senior military commander told the court that each accusation was false and that his reputation had already taken a lot of damage. He also said that his reputation would take more damage in the future.
The claimant has challenged each broadcast by Major (retd) Raja, claiming that the material was fraudulent and unsubstantiated, and that there was no justification to disseminate such news without truth and facts.
Major (ret.) Raja arrived in London from Islamabad in April after going missing.
Since leaving Pakistan over differences with his former organisation, he’s made several contentious broadcasts alleging a “regime change” conspiracy and naming serving military members.
Major (ret.) Raja informed Geo News his tweets and vlogs were based on “well-placed sources in the Pakistani establishment.”
He said it was terrible that the claimant sued “a fellow officer and countryman abroad.” Major (ret.) Raja said he made his broadcasts in the “public interest” and followed journalistic ethics.
Brigadier Naseer is represented by Dawn Solicitors from Slough, Berkshire, and Major (ret.) Raja is represented by solicitor Mahtab Anwar Aziz. This is the same lawyer who said in November 2017 that Scotland Yard would arrest PML-N leaders Nawaz Sharif and Nasir Butt for plotting to kill PTI leader Imran Khan and murdered journalist Arshad Sharif. The London police have said they have not initiated an investigation based