Pahalgam attack aftermath: CRPF sacks jawan over marriage to Pakistani woman
Munir Ahmed
for "concealing" his marriage to a Pakistani woman,
Menal Khan
, and harbouring her beyond the validity of her visa. "His actions were found to be in violation of service conduct and detrimental to national security," a CRPF spokesperson said.
Menal's deportation was put on hold by the high court.
Ahmed, Menal had married on May 24 over a video call last year
Ahmed's marriage with Menal Khan, a Pakistani citizen, came to light after India asked Pakistani nationals to leave the country as part of diplomatic measures taken in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
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Menal was sent to the Attari-Wagah border to be deported but got relief from HC on April 29. The court allowed her to stay in India for 10 days.
Ahmed and Menal had married over a video call on May 24 last year. A CRPF probe found the jawan had 'not intimated' his superiors about his wedding to the Pakistani national, as required by service rules, or her overstaying in India.
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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. 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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 that didn't stop my previous institution, which I served as a third-generation officer, they deciding to court-martial me in 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 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. 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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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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
