Major Adil Raja claims threats, family targeted after exposing Pakistan army

India Today

5 days ago

In an explosive interview with India Today's Geeta Mohan, former Pakistan Army officer and whistleblower Major (Retd) Adil Raja has accused the Pakistani military establishment, particularly the ISI, of weaponising the UK's libel laws to silence dissent abroad. Raja, now living in exile in London, faces a high-stakes defamation trial starting on 21 July 2025, a case he describes as a 'strategic lawsuit against public participation' (SLAPP) designed to undermine his journalism and intimidate critics of the Pakistani state.advertisementThe trial pits Raja against serving Pakistani military officer Brigadier Rashid Nasir, who claims defamation after Raja publicly accused him of political and judicial manipulation — allegations Raja insists are supported by evidence and widely shared in Pakistan. Cleared of terrorism charges by UK authorities following a 9-month enquiry in 2023, Raja states this civil lawsuit is the ISI's new tactic in what he calls 'lawfare', the use of legal systems abroad to export censorship.The former officer recounted shocking reprisals against his family in Pakistan, including his mother's purported house arrest and passport cancellation, and the acid attack on a key witness, Shahzad Akbar, in the UK. Raja warns that a ruling against him could set a dangerous global precedent, emboldening authoritarian regimes to silence exiled journalists through foreign courts.
'This isn't just my fight,' he said, 'it's about press freedom everywhere.' Q: What happens when a man in Pakistan wants to speak truth to power? What happens when a man has to leave that country and live in exile? What happens when he has to leave his services and then follow what he thinks is right for Pakistan? Major Adil Raja is no longer in the army, but he has served in Pakistan and now lives in exile because he's questioned the Pakistani army, and he continues to, now as a journalist in London, question what's happening in Pakistan. And what does he get in return? He gets a defamation case. What is the case all about? Is this muzzling by the Pakistani ISI, and how is the Pakistani administration doing it today? To discuss all this and more, I'm being joined by Adil Raja himself. Thank you so much for doing this, Adil. It is a very tough one — you've had a tough few months, so to say. First, just break it down for us — what is this case that you've been fighting against the administration in London?A: Well, you see, it's not been a tough few months but tough few years, I would say. Because the defamation case started in August of 2022, and it is going to trial next week, starting Monday, the 21st of July, 2025. It is a strategic lawsuit against public participation — it is part of the lawfare launched against me by the Pakistani military establishment and its intelligence arm, the ISI, with whom I was once working, as a third-generation Pakistan Army officer. And this lawfare is making use of the UK's relaxed libel laws, which favour the claimant — and that's why the UK, and London in particular, is called the libel tourism capital of the world. And that's not me or you saying it — that's Geoffrey Robertson, the King's Counsel, in his book Lawfare: How the Rich and the Government Try to Prevent Free Speech. He writes this, and it is a well-established fact that lawfare in the UK is launched by the rich and powerful. If you've got one to three million British pounds to spare, you can silence anyone in the UK — and that is why it's called the libel tourism capital of the world.For the details, you'll have to read the book Lawfare by Geoffrey Robertson — I've just quoted him. But I'll give you a brief background: before this libel case, the Pakistani state — only because I was a whistleblower, exposing crimes against humanity in my country — targeted me. I was committing the cardinal sin: being a former army officer, a third-generation Pakistani army man, exposing the crimes of my institution — the regime change operations, controlling the government, political manipulation, judicial manipulation, and corruption. That is a cardinal sin.Because of that, they got me arrested here in the UK by the counterterrorism police, saying that—advertisementQ: When were you arrested?advertisementA: I was arrested in 2023 by the UK's counterterrorism police for a few hours, but I was kept on bail for nine months. The Pakistani media reported it — it was the Pakistani state that got me arrested under the counterterrorism laws, saying my journalism was inciting violence in Pakistan. But the UK's counterterrorism police conducted an inquiry for nine months and cleared me of all the charges. They didn't even charge me — they cleared me of all allegations.But that didn't stop my previous institution, which I served as a third-generation officer, they deciding to court-martial me in 2020.advertisementQ: Charges — what were the specific charges?A: The counterterrorism charges were that I was inciting violence abroad — they showed a few tweets and a livestream on YouTube. Because of this, they got my channels on YouTube terminated. They said the livestream was about five hours, which I did with Pakistan's leading dissenting journalists — Dr. Moeed Pirzada, Shaheen Sahbai (who's a witness in my case), Colonel Syed Akbar Hussain (another witness in my case), Wajahat S. Khan, Haider Mehdi — we were reporting on the events of May 9th, 2023, which were already public on social media.But they said that was incitement of violence, and reported it to the UK police.Q: But you've been cleared.A: Cleared — after nine months, they could find nothing. They had to end the case with no further action. But they still went ahead and court-martialed me in absentia, sentenced me to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment under the Official Secrets Act.Q: Back to Pakistan — your homeland.A: Yeah, my home, where my mother is, who got abducted by them and is kept hostage in Pakistan, so I don't go and see her. She's practically under house arrest — her passports have been cancelled. She was abducted on her way to the airport once, alongside my uncle, who has passed away — he was a retired colonel. Now she's not allowed to leave. My entire family's passports have been blocked and cancelled — their nationalities too — just because I'm speaking up for the truth and the people of Pakistan.Then they came up with this SLAPP — strategic lawsuit against public participation — and started serving me notices. This is just one of the files — I have entire stacks of such files. They started this lawfare against me because they've got money to spare, influence — definitely they have influence in the UK. But they haven't been able to get me under counterterrorism, so now they're trying their luck in the courts in the UK, since the UK is the libel tourism capital of the world — as King's Counsel Geoffrey Robertson says.advertisementQ: Coming back to your family, is there any provision in Pakistani laws that family members' passports can be rescinded, revoked, taken away, so that they can be kept in the country, not allowed to leave at all?A: What law are you talking about, Geeta? There's no law in Pakistan — except martial law. Once the army chief decides something, he'll do it. He decided his buddy — my brother-in-law — should torture my sister, send her back home and snatch her son — they did it. I'm sorry for getting emotional — I've never—Q: I understand — I know, I know it must be very difficult.A: But they've done it, nobody can stop them. Might is right; that's the rule of law in Pakistan. Pakistan is an authoritarian state, Amnesty International reports, and Human Rights Watch says partially free. I say it's not free at all. If you can fly in and out, fine, but if you stay shut. You try to speak up, you end up in jail like Imran Khan.The military rules military doesn't have a public mandate. So they create chaos if Imran Khan, who had the public mandate, tried to build bridges with India, the military created chaos instead. They plan attacks so that chaos keeps people distracted jingoism keeps people distracted from the real issues.Q: How is the UK administration allowing this? How did the Pakistani High Commission take this forward to ensure there's a defamation case against a dissenter living in London? Many advocates of media freedom say this trial could set a very wrong precedent.A: Very pertinent. As far as the UK government is concerned, they cleared me after nine months. They kept me on strict bail, but my excellent legal team and my rights helped they drop the case. So justice did prevail, the UK establishment does believe in fair play, and wants to protect dissidents.But when it comes to lawfare, anyone with millions of pounds can come to the UK and exploit its libel laws. The burden of proof is on the defendant, not the claimant. That's how the ISI is taking me to court here: the ISI's senior officer — Brigadier Rashid Nasir, the Punjab sector commander — came to the UK while serving in 2022, claiming I defamed him by saying he's involved in political manipulation, judicial manipulation, which even kids in Pakistan know.Q: So he has to come to London every hearing?A: Yes — he's in London now, goes to court. But I don't go because the UK police gave a witness statement that I'm under threat, so I appear via remote link.Q: Is this a civil case, Adil, or a Pakistani crackdown on foreign soil?A: It's technically a civil case, but it's a Pakistani crackdown on foreign soil. The National Union of Journalists here passed a motion saying I'm facing a SLAPP. They said this case represents a significant threat to press freedom and journalistic integrity — SLAPPs are designed to silence journalists through costly legal action.They resolved to fully support me, circulate my press release, encourage media coverage, and invite me to share details. They know what's going on. The UK works on case law — if I lose, it'll set a precedent for muzzling dissent globally. That's why many British journalists are shifting to France — because the EU passed anti-SLAPP laws in 2024.My witnesses — Pakistan's senior journalists like Shaheen Sahbai, Colonel Syed Akbar Hussain, Shahzad Akbar — their families are being threatened. Their social accounts hacked — propaganda campaigns run. The ISI is using all its power to silence this. They just don't want any coverage, because it exposes their soft belly.Q: How confident are you that the ruling will be in your favour? Or are you worried about what the ISI could influence in a London court?A: It's delicate — 50-50. There's no jury — it's all up to the judge. Why would a judge rule the ISI rigs elections? But everything I've said is proven. Still, considering UK-Pakistan relations, they may not go there. The harm claimed is absurd — I spoke the truth in public interest.It's delicate, the ISI is spending millions, hiring top legal chambers — the same one Keir Starmer worked at. So it's a big machine.Q: Other than Brigadier Rashid Nasir, who do you blame in Pakistan?A: The Army Chief, General Asim Munir, is directly involved. The DG ISI, Lieutenant General Asim Malik, is also directly involved. They know their chances aren't bright, so they keep it low-key and muzzle coverage. The English media in Pakistan is controlled dependent on state advertising, so they only print what the establishment wants.Q: Adil, you've been brave. But are you scared? The threat is real — we've seen leaders lose their lives. Benazir Bhutto is an example. Imran Khan says the same.A: I'm not scared, but yes, I'm careful. There's a thin line between foolishness and bravery. My family is scared that my pensions, assets, bank balances, and property are all gone. I live at a police-protected address, I'm in hiding, can't move freely.One of my witnesses, Shahzad Akbar, suffered an acid attack at his home here in the UK. So yes, the threat is real, but I have to fight. I was groomed as a soldier. I took an oath to the people, not the generals. Pakistanis want democracy, their mandate respected, that's what I'm fighting for.Q: How do you see political stability coming? Imran Khan's sons, Reham Khan's new party — what do you make of this?A: Imran Khan's sons aren't interested in politics, only in getting relief for their father. Reham Khan's party I don't take it seriously, maybe it'll survive if the military supports it. The real plan is bigger, creating chaos, attacking India, using war jingoism to justify an emergency and more control.The plan is allegedly by the Army Chief, Asim Munir, putting his brother-in-law as PM, himself or another general as president, a Musharraf-style accountability push to claim they cleaned up Pakistan. That's the plan; whether they succeed depends on whether they can provoke war.Q: Final question, God forbid, if there's an attempt on your life, who would you blame?A: The Pakistani military establishment. The Army Chief Asim Munir. The DG ISI, Asim Malik. Major General Faisal Nasir. Brigadier Rashid Nasir. They are behind the threats, the same people threatening my witnesses. The only reason they haven't got to me is because I'm careful, trained, and protected by British police. But yes, this fight is high stakes. I read Faslon ko Takalluf as a kid. My nation is my life. I'll fight for it. Peace is the only way forward — peace can make South Asia the richest region again, like before colonisation.- Ends