Nasir Butt, the central character in judge Arshed Malik video scandal, has won the first phase of his defamation case against Dunya News in UK over defamatory allegations made by Ayaz Amir, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Firdous Ashiq Awan, Shehbaz Gill and Dunya News itself after Arshad Malik secret video scandal broke out.
The UK High Court’s Justice Collins Rice has ruled that Dunya TV’s comments about Nasir Mehmood Butt were “defamatory of Mr Mehmood at common law”. This is Nasir Mehmood Butt’s second defamation case victory after he successfully sued ARY’s UK broadcaster NVTV last year and won around £100,000 in damages and ARY will separately his legal costs.
Nasir Mehmood Butt, who left for Pakistan after secretly filming Judge Arshed Malik and handing the tapes to Maryam Nawaz, had launched his defamation case against Dunya TV channel UK company and its owner Mian Aamir Mahmood over four programmes broadcast in July 2019 after Maryam Nawaz Sharif released the video of Judge Arshed Malik – filmed by Nasir Butt.
In that video, Judge Arshed Malik had confessed he had been blackmailed and put under pressure to jail Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister of Pakistan. The four programmes include Ikhtalafi Note featuring Ayaz Amir, tickers on the screen, headlines of one bulletin and the Think Tank programme where Ayaz Amir, Khawar Ghumman, Salman Ghani and others took part.
On Dunya News UK, it was alleged by Ayaz Amir, Shehbaz Gill and Firdous Ashiq Awan that Nasir Butt was a killer and drug dealer; someone who has been involved in murder and drug-related cases; a fugitive from justice; a multiple murderer, who was leader of a criminal gang and a key part of a drug-selling network; infamous; he could have been bribing and blackmailing Judge Arshed Malik; and a disreputable character who would be used by organised crime bosses to carry out their blackmail enterprises, including of judges. Nasir Butt claimed in his claim that Ayaz Amir had linked him with paedophiles of infamous Kasur rape case.
Honourable Mrs Justice Collins Rice said that these allegations were hostile to Nasir Butt and must have been taken seriously by the ordinary viewers. Ayaz Amir had said that Judge Arshed Malik was a victim of Nasir Butt who did to the judge what the Blackmailers in Kasur did to the child victims of rape – through blackmail. Ayaz Amir falsely claimed that Judge Arshed Malik was blackmailed with a sexually compromising video and had been at the mercy of his blackmailers for some time.
Mrs Justice Collins Rice ruled that the natural and ordinary meaning of the publications on Dunya in the UK complained of were defamatory at common law. This means that Dunya will have to prove each and every word alleged as a fact and not opinion during the full trial of the case at the same court.
The court has awarded trial costs of around £15000 to Nasir Butt, directing both parties to try to settle the case before June otherwise a full trial of the case will take place where Dunya TV will have to prove each and every allegation with facts and evidence. The Judge has ruled that the channel had alleged that the claimant Nasir Butt is “guilty” of the conduct alleged and this can only be proven through the highest level of evidence of guilt.
