Author: News Desk

The London High Court has ruled against Pakistani YouTuber Adil Raja in the defamation case filed by Brigadier (r) Rashid Naseer, ordering the self-proclaimed analyst to pay damages and legal costs amounting to approximately Rs130 million.

According to reports, UK High Court’s Judge Richard Spearman said that Raja had defamed Brig (r) Rashid Naseer by making false and damaging allegations. He ruled that the publications had harmed the former military officer’s reputation, and that Raja failed to substantiate his claims in court.

The court subsequently directed the YouTuber to pay £50,000 in damages and nearly £300,000 in legal expenses. It also mandated that Raja publicly acknowledged the verdict across all his social media platforms, confirming that Brig (r) Naseer had won the case.

The lawsuit stemmed from nine media items that Brig (r) Naseer deemed defamatory. In earlier proceedings, the court had already ruled that Raja’s social media statements lacked a factual basis.

The judge found that Raja had made the remarks “as matters of fact, not opinion”, and had failed to provide any credible evidence to support them. Raja’s attempts to halt the trial and his claims that Pakistan’s judiciary and intelligence agencies controlled the proceedings were also dismissed by the court.

The verdict marks the latest development in a long-running legal and reputational battle for Raja, who has previously faced reports of arrest in London for inciting hatred against state institutions and property seizure orders by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad for provoking violence through online content.

Brig (r) Naseer was represented by Barrister David Lemer of Doughty Street Chambers and Ushrat Sultana and Sadia Qureshi of Stone White Solicitors. Raja, on the other hand, was represented by Barrister Simon Harding.

A mentally ill 74-year-old Christian blasphemy accused has been released by the Supreme Court after 23 years, it has emerged.

The Supreme Court, after setting the judgements of the high court and trial court aside, observed that the appellant was more than 74 years of age, not of sound mind, and had spent around 23 years in prison, most of which was in a death cell.

“The opinion of the Medical Board raises doubt regarding the culpability of the appellant and its benefit cannot be withheld in the facts and circumstances of this case. The benefit of doubt is, therefore, extended in favor of the appellant and consequently he is acquitted from the charge framed against him,” read the nine-page judgement of the apex court, penned by Justice Athar Minallah.

“The conduct of the appellant during the investigation and the trial was not that of a normal and sane person. The contents of the letter reflected signs of grandeur, hallucination and delusional flight of ideas. Though the abnormality was obvious from the conduct and contents of the letter, neither the prosecution nor the trial court had the appellant medically examined by specialists in the field of psychiatry,” the judgement added.

The court said if the man was not required to remain in prison on any other charge, he was free to go, and that it expected for the individual’s medical treatment to continue even after release.

It merits a mention that the case in question had been pending before the top court since 2014 and was heard by several benches more than a dozen times since 2017, but no decision was taken.

The case pertained to a complaint lodged against the man at Lahore’ Gawalmandi Police Station in September 2001, under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

The appellant was subsequently arrested, and after completion of the investigation, a report was filed in court. The appellant had pleaded guilty to the charge framed against him on June 28, 2002.

The trial court, upon conclusion of trial, had convicted the appellant for commission of the alleged offence and sentenced him to death. He was also ordered to pay a fine of Rs500,000, which, in case of default, was to be recovered as arrears of land revenue.

He had appealed the sentence in the high court, but the same was dismissed on June 30, 2014. 

After examining the accused’s record, the Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH) in Lahore had constituted a board to evaluate him, resulting in a Bipolar Affective Disorder diagnosis.

He was later admitted to a hospital for treatment.

Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore Bilal Siddique Kamyana has ordered a crackdown on the public display of arms and the menace of “Dala Culture” to impress and threaten the public.

Chairing a meeting to review the monthly performance of Civil Lines and Model Town police divisions, the top cop directed DIG (Operations) Faisal Kamran to initiate wide-ranging operations to eliminate the unlawful presence of armed individuals and suppress elements involved in promoting a culture of intimidation and lawlessness.

Emphasising the importance of targeted action against narcotics, he directed officials to backtrack drug-related cases to uncover and dismantle larger smuggling networks.

“There must be no leniency towards drug dealers. Tracing their links is crucial for long-term results,” he said and stressed the need for efficient public service at police front desks, ensuring all applications are addressed promptly.

“Officers must maintain direct contact with complainants to guarantee timely and impartial justice,” he said.

On street crime, the CCPO Kamyana ordered intensified patrolling in hotspot areas and the full utilisation of the police’s surveillance software Hotel Eye to monitor suspicious activities.

In light of security challenges, he directed taking preventive measures at banks, commercial centres and other locations across the city.

The meeting was also attended by DIG (Admin) Imran Kishwar, DIG (Investigation) Zeeshan Raza, SSP (Investigation) Muhammad Naveed as well as relevant SPs, ASPs, Circle Officers and SHOs.

After weeks of reported rifts within the ranks of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has resigned as the provincial chief executive on jailed party founder Imran Khan’ orders.

Amid speculation on the reason behind his sacking and the PTI’s claims of no divides within the party, senior journalist and analyst Ansar has said the development is a “stark reminder of how perilous it can be for even a powerful figure in PTI to end up on the wrong side of the two women closest to incarcerated Khan”.

“The once-fiery PTI stalwart had little political ground left to stand on after a bruising, power struggle with Aleema Khan and an old rift with Bushra Bibi that never truly healed,” Abbasi wrote for The News.

He said that tensions between Gandapur and Bushra Bibi had been simmering since last year when the PTI leadership decided to lead a protest march to Islamabad’s D-Chowk. 

The demonstration had turned bloody after Bushra Bibi had overruled Gandapur and pushed for the march to continue to the heart of the capital despite the latter’s advice to stop at Sangjani on security and strategic grounds.

This, Abbasi said, was the first visible sign that Gandapur’s authority within the party was challenged by Bushra Bibi, who, despite the CM’s reluctance, had joined the march and led it too.

The rift deepened when Bushra Bibi publicly claimed that she had been “left alone” at D-Chowk during the tense standoff — a statement Gandapur publicly rejected. “I was with her from beginning to end,” he had told reporters.

Gandapur, the journalist said, was also upset with the interference into political matters by Bushra Bibi during her stay in Peshawar despite a lack of support from within the party as Imran Khan always trusted her the most.

The more serious confrontation, Abbasi maintained, was recently when Gandapur openly accused Khan’s sister Aleema of engineering a rift within the PTI, further alleging that she was being facilitated by the Military Intelligence (MI) and “establishment.”

“Imran Khan is my leader and I am loyal to him. It is my right to convey the truth to him … I made him aware of all that has been happening [during my meeting with him yesterday],” Gandapur had said in a video statement.

 
The KP CM said that he had conveyed to the party founder that Aleema had a big role in dividing the party and some members being discredited. He also alleged that no steps were being taken for Khan’s release. “Instead, there is groupism in party which some people are using to serve their own interests.”

 
He alleged that Aleema was in contact with “vloggers” working to create divide in the party. “And instead of stopping them… she is provoking them. And Hafeezullah Niazi sahib refers to Aleema Khan as the prime minister in his articles. He writes that she should become the party chairperson,” he alleged.

Days later, Khan had reportedly told Gandapur and Aleema to avoid issuing statements against each other.