Web desk: An online dispute has broken out between former army officer Adil Raja and journalist Imran Riaz Khan over a high profile defamation case in the United Kingdom.
The controversy centres on a judgment by the UK High Court’s King’s Bench Division, where Justice Richard Spearman ruled against Adil Raja in a defamation suit filed by Brigadier (retd) Rashid Naseer.
The court found that Raja had made false and baseless allegations against Naseer, and ordered him to pay £50,000 in damages and around £300,000 in legal costs, as well as to stop repeating the claims on social media.
In November 2023, the Pakistan Army announced that a Field General Court Martial had convicted Major (retd) Adil Farooq Raja of inciting sedition and mutiny among army personnel through his online activity, and he was sentenced to a long jail term under military law and related statutes.
Raja now based abroad and active on YouTube and X has filed an appeal in the UK against the defamation ruling.
As part of that process, he has publicly urged fellow commentator Imran Riaz Khan to provide a witness statement in his support.
Imran Riaz, however, has refused. Speaking at a public event in Denmark, he was asked by an audience member why he was not giving evidence for Raja.
In response he said that after his release from jail in Pakistan, Raja contacted his family saying he wanted “credit” for work done on Imran’s case but that the information Raja had spread about him on social media was false.
According to Imran’s account Raja had publicly guessed the timeframe of his imprisonment and suggested possible locations where he might be held but those details were incorrect.
Imran alleged that Raja did this mainly to build his own social media following not to help his family or his legal situation.
Imran Riaz went further and distanced himself completely from Raja’s allegations against Brigadier (retd) Rashid Naseer.
He told the audience that the accusations made by Raja about Naseer were not his statements and that he considered those claims to be false and entirely the responsibility of Adil Raja.
Both men have their own legal histories in Pakistan. Imran Riaz has faced multiple cases including sedition related FIRs and accusations of inciting mutiny and criticising state institutions.
