A London high court has ruled against YouTuber and former Pakistan Army officer retired Major Adil Farooq Raja in a high-profile defamation case filed by retired Brigadier Rashid Nasir, a former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer.

The defamation suit was filed in August 2022, but was made public in April after the respondent stirred another controversy in Pakistan over his allegations targeting leading film and TV actresses.

On Thursday, the court found Raja’s allegations of corruption, electoral interference, and human rights abuses against Nasir to be “false and baseless”, ordering him to pay £350,000 in damages and legal costs.

Justice Richard Spearman KC delivered the judgment, ordering Raja to pay £50,000 (around Rs20 million) in damages and approximately £300,000 (around Rs110m) in legal costs.

The court also directed Raja to publish a summary of the verdict on all his social media platforms, confirming that his claims against Nasir were untrue. In addition, he must apologise and give a written assurance that he will not repeat the allegations.

The case was based on nine social media posts and videos in which Raja accused Brig Nasir of corruption, political interference, and misuse of authority. He alleged that Nasir influenced court proceedings, interfered in elections and engaged in political dealings on behalf of senior military officials — claims that the court found to have no factual basis.

Justice Spearman noted that Raja failed to provide credible evidence or reliable sources to support his statements.

He also observed that the three witnesses presented by Raja — journalist Shaheen Sehbai, former PTI leader Shahzad Akbar, and Syed Akbar Hussain — did not provide testimony that substantiated any of the allegations.

Following the ruling, Adil Raja expressed his disappointment with the judgment.

“Today is a disappointing day,” he wrote on X. “The judge was not with us.”

He added: “Our resolve is undeterred despite today’s setback. Our struggle for democracy in Pakistan will continue. The people of Pakistan are witnesses to the facts on the ground, and their determination for freedom remains rock solid. Our mothers and sisters who have faced brutality and torture with courage in their eyes know that we are fighting for them.”