Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari, the former Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan and Minister for Overseas Pakistanis, has won the defamation case against Reham Khan, a broadcaster and former wife of PM Imran Khan.
Mrs. Justice Karen Steyn determined the meaning of eight publications, during a trial of preliminary issues before the London High Court complaint against Zulfi Bukhari by Reham Khan through a YouTube Broadcast on Roosevelt Hotel. Justice Steyn rejected Khan’s interpretation of the publications’ significance and instead accepted the stance put forth by Zulfi Bukhari.
Apology by Reham Khan
Reham Khan read out her unconditional apology to Zulfi Bukhari earlier today (15 October) for broadcasting a defamatory video on social media while agreeing to withdraw all allegations and pay the sum of £50,000 in costs and damages as per court orders.
Reham also expressed regret for retweeting three defamatory tweets which had alleged elements of corruption, nepotism, and embezzlement. Reham agreed to apologize and pay damages ahead of a full defamation trial in the case.
According to a Tomlin Order sealed by the High Court of Justice in London, following a determination by the same court in June this year that the words she uttered against Bukhari constituted chase level-1 defamation which is the highest form of defamation that can only be proven through facts.
Reham Khan will tweet the apology and clarification in both English and Urdu for at least three days and pin it to her Twitter account. Similarly, she would publish the same apology on her YouTube account and Facebook page in both English and Urdu.
Defamation Case
Reham Khan on December 6, 2019, started a defamation claim over a YouTube broadcast in which she said that Zulfi Bukhari has personal interests in the sale of Manhattan’s Roosevelt Hotel which is owned by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). She went on to say that Pakistan’s national assets were being sold in an act of “robbery” to benefit people like Zulfi Bukhari.
Barrister Claire Overman, while Seeking Chase Level 1 determination, argued that her client Zulfi Bukhari has been defamed at the highest level. Due to Reham khan’s broadcast, Zulfi was declared guilty of corruption and dishonesty; however, Khan claimed that Zulfi’s reputation was not harmed, and this matter is in the interests of the public. In addition, she also contested this issue to merit Chase Level 3 at most.
Former advisor to the Prime Minister claimed that the documents filed at the London High Court specifically targeted him about the sale of the Roosevelt Hotel. Zulfi sued Reham Khan because she claimed that he was involved in a corrupt plan with Pakistan’s Prime Minister to sell or acquire the Roosevelt Hotel in New York at a low price for his benefit.
Publications
The judge heard that the broadcaster presented claims of corruption and favoritism in the first publication, dated December 6, 2019, via YouTube, saying that Imran Khan’s government planned to favor Zulfi Bukhari through the dubious hotel transaction.
The second publication was at most a continuation of the first publication which contested favoritism for Zulfi Bukhari. Furthermore, the third publication again was of the same YouTube video on Twitter while the fourth publication was again the promotion of the same broadcast with the addition of “plunder” of Roosevelt Hotel.
The fifth publication of the case was a retweet by another user who condemned Zulfi for “nepotism.”
The sixth publication was a retweet by Reham Khan of the same Twitter user in which she added the words, “shocking claims & revelations” and “Zulfi needs to STOP Lying and NAB needs to investigate his father’s REAL money trail.”
The seventh publication was a retweet from a Pakistani journalist, which included the phrases “notices delivered to journalists & anchors who dared to address the problem of coronavirus containment in Pakistan” and “Zulfi Bukhari took sanctuary behind Pemra by serving notices” to two anchors.
The eighth publication was a retweet in which Zulfi Bukhari was “blamed for the spread of the #coronavirus in Pakistan” and “putting millions of Pakistani lives at risk.”
Defense of Reham Khan
Reham Khan, in her defense, told the court that the vlog she released on December 6 was basically an attempt to alert the public about the plans of the government regarding the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan.
Furthermore, she said that her information was based on the objection of the Aviation Ministry on the creation of a task force for Roosevelt. She insisted that she was merely trying to save the Roosevelt Hotel and that she had the right to challenge the government’s “performance or buffoonery.”
Reham Khan informed the judge that she did not use offensive language and that her remarks were not a personal assault intended to discredit the claimant, and that her goal had been met and the Roosevelt sale had been halted.
Response of the Judge
The natural and ordinary meaning of all eight publications had a Chase Level 1 imputation, according to Judge Karen Steyn. She went on to say that all eight publications were defamatory of Zulfi Bukhari at common law, except for the seventh, which is an opinion (the rest of the seventh is a statement of fact); and that all eight publications were defamatory of Zulfi Bukhari at common law.
The judge cited Jang and Geo’s Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman’s victory against a private Pakistani broadcaster five years ago. The judgment in Rahman’s case established a precedent for Urdu language broadcast cases that fall under the UK’s jurisdiction.
Reham Khan in a statement said that “I have no reason to harbor any personal vendetta against Zulfi. We parted on cordial terms. This however does not mean that I will not criticize the PTI government’s performance and plans that make no sense.”
Barrister Claire Overman, in response, said that she understands and will be taking further instruction.
