A UK High Court has ordered retired Pakistan Army officer Major (retd) Adil Raja to pay £6,100 in legal costs to Brigadier (retd) Rashid Naseer within 14 days, in an ongoing defamation case.
The latest order comes in addition to the £23,000 Raja has already been directed to pay to Naseer’s legal team.
At a half-day hearing before Master Davison on Wednesday, the court addressed three preliminary applications ahead of a full trial scheduled for July 2025. Brigadier (retd) Naseer appeared in person at the hearing.
The first application, filed by Adil Raja, sought permission for him and three of his witnesses—Shaheen Sehbai, Colonel (retd) Akbar Hussain, and Mirza Shahzad Akbar—to testify remotely. While Naseer did not raise a fundamental objection, he challenged the supporting evidence. The judge noted that remote testimonies from the United States are typically permitted for convenience and cost, and questioned why such an application was necessary for Sehbai and Akbar. As for Shahzad Akbar and Raja himself, the judge deferred the matter to the trial judge at the upcoming pre-trial review.
The second application concerned an anonymous witness whom Raja claimed was affiliated with the Pakistan Army but had refused to testify. Raja had applied for anonymity on the witness’s behalf and sought to have the associated legal costs borne by Naseer. However, after Raja withdrew the application, the judge ruled that cost issues would be decided at the conclusion of the trial.
The third matter involved an application by Rashid Naseer for an “unless and debarring” order after Raja delayed payment of previously ordered legal costs. Although Raja eventually cleared the £23,000 after the application was filed, Naseer requested an additional £6,100 to cover the legal expenses of pursuing the order. The court agreed and directed Raja to pay the amount within 14 days.
During proceedings, Raja also made a statement suggesting he intended to serve a summons on a Pakistani journalist residing in London. However, when questioned, his counsel clarified that this was only a hypothetical suggestion and no such action was underway.
In a statement of costs submitted to the court, Raja’s legal team confirmed they are working under a conditional fee arrangement. “Our firm is conducting this case on a CFA basis. If [the defendant] is able to recover his costs, then our firm will be paid; otherwise, he will not have to pay,” the statement read.
The defamation trial is set to proceed in July.
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