The court also ruled that Raja must pay a total of £310,000 in damages and legal costs by December 22. Of the amount, £50,000 is for damages, while £260,000 covers legal expenses. Additional court costs, to be determined later, will also be his responsibility.
Raja is a YouTuber and a former Pakistan Army officer, retired Major, who has been accused by the State of anti-state propaganda.
The ruling was delivered by Justice Richard Spearman during a High Court hearing. Raja previously lost a defamation case filed against him in October this year and later attempted to appeal the verdict, which the court has now rejected.
Brigadier Naseer had requested the court to issue an order concerning the October judgment. Justice Spearman has also issued an injunction, preventing Adil Raja from publishing further defamatory statements in the future.
Read More: Pakistan submits extradition requests for Shehzad Akbar, Adil Raja to UK
Raja’s lawyer indicated that they plan to take the case to the Court of Appeal.
In the October judgment, the court had declared all allegations made by Raja against Brigadier Naseer as baseless. At the time, the court ordered Raja to publish a summary of the decision, acknowledging that his accusations were defamatory and that Brigadier Naseer had won the case.
Brigadier Naseer was present in the court on Monday to hear the ruling, while Raja’s lawyers represented him.
The case originated when Raja accused Brigadier Naseer of taking control of the Lahore High Court, bribing politicians to manipulate elections, using the police to defeat PTI candidates, and horse-trading on behalf of General Bajwa.
Naseer took legal action after ten allegedly defamatory posts by Raja were published on social media platforms X, Facebook, and YouTube.
Last week, the Government of Pakistan submitted extradition documents for Shehzad Akbar and Raja to the British High Commissioner, requesting their immediate return. “These individuals are wanted in Pakistan and should be handed over without delay,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi stated.
Naqvi held a meeting with British High Commissioner Jane Marriott, during which the two sides discussed Pakistan-UK relations, security cooperation, and matters of mutual interest.
Akbar, a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, served as an advisor to the now-incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan.