ISLAMABAD: The government has declared YouTuber Adil Farooq Raja, a former Pakistan Army officer currently residing in the United Kingdom, a proscribed person under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

“The federal government has reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Adil Farooq Raja has been demonstrating his sustained involvement in activities posing a serious threat to the security, integrity, and public order of Pakistan,” read a notification issued by the interior ministry on Dec 27.

“He has consistently misused online platforms to promote, facilitate, and amplify anti-state narratives and propaganda associated with proscribed terrorist organisations, thereby acting in a manner prejudicial to the sovereignty and defence of Pakistan,” it added.

“In exercise of powers conferred by Section 11ee of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, the federal government is pleased to direct to list Mr Adil Farooq Raja in the Fourth Schedule to the said Act as a proscribed person for the purposes of the said Act.”

The notification was issued after the federal cabinet approved a summary for Mr Raja’s proscription, the summary for which had been submitted by the interior ministry on Dec 23.

Extradition papers

The development came roughly 20 days after Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi handed over the extradition papers for Mr Raja — who has positioned himself as a whistleblower — and former special assistant to the prime minister Shahzad Akbar to UK High Commissioner Jane Marriott.

Prior to that, Mr Naqvi had announced a crackdown on those involved in spreading fake news, saying the government would seek the repatriation of UK-based YouTubers involved in this activity or targeting state institutions.

Reacting to the development, Mr Raja wrote in a post on X: “They may call the British High Commissioner to complain, but such a complaint is itself unlawful under UK statutes, as we have committed no wrongdoing.”

On Dec 10, Mr Raja had also been ordered to pay £350,000 in damages and legal costs after a London high court ruled he had defamed a former intelligence officer with unfounded allegations of corruption and electoral interference.

In 2023, Mr Raja was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment following a Field General Court Martial for “inciting sedition” and stripped of his military rank.

Although the military’s media wing did not directly link the convictions to the May 9, 2023 riots, Islamabad police had accused Mr Raja and retired Captain Haider Raza Mehdi — another YouTuber based abroad — of playing a significant role in fomenting unrest and inciting attacks on military installations during widespread protests that followed PTI founder Imran Khan’s arrest on that day.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2025