Adil Raja admits defaming Brig (retd) Rashid Naseer

LONDON: Pakistani YouTuber and former army officer Major (retd) Adil Raja has admitted that his previous allegations against Brig (retd) Rashid Naseer were false, baseless and defamatory, according to a directive from the London High Court.

The London High Court ruled that Adil Raja had no defence for the allegations he levelled against Brig (retd) Rashid Naseer. The court also issued two warnings to him in case of non-compliance.

The judge warned that failure to comply with the court’s orders would amount to contempt of court, which could lead to fines, imprisonment, or seizure of assets.

Under orders from Deputy High Court Judge Richard Spearman KC, Adil Raja published a summary of the court’s decision across all his social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, and his official website.

In the published summary, Raja acknowledged that on October 9, 2025, the High Court ruled that he must pay £50,000 (approximately Rs20 million) in damages to Brig (retd) Naseer. The court also ordered him to cover legal costs amounting to £260,000, to be paid by December 22, 2025.

The apology and court summary must remain publicly accessible on his platforms for 28 days, the court said.

Raja confirmed that between June 14 and June 29, 2022, he had made multiple defamatory statements against Brig (retd) Naseer. He stated in the summary that he has no defence for those allegations and that he has now published the full link to the court’s verdict on his platforms.

The High Court found that Raja had accused Naseer of corruption, election rigging, judicial manipulation, and other serious misconduct on social media. The court declared these claims to be false, baseless, and malicious.

Raja had also claimed that Naseer was deeply involved in influencing the Lahore High Court and orchestrating political outcomes — allegations that were dismissed by the court for lack of evidence.

Judge Spearman’s order prohibits Raja from publishing any further statements that directly or indirectly defame Brig Naseer, his employees agents, or associates.

The legal battle dates back to August 11, 2022, when Brig Naseer filed the defamation suit in London, accusing Raja of deliberate character assassination through social media posts dating back to June 2022.

The London High Court’s decision emphasized that online platforms do not provide immunity from defamation laws when allegations are unsubstantiated.

This ruling follows earlier related proceedings in which the court rejected Raja’s appeals to reduce fines and reaffirmed the penalties against him, underlining the seriousness with which UK courts treat defamatory online speech.