LONDON: British-Pakistani businessman and property developer Aneel Mussarat has won a defamation suit against fiercely nationalist Republic Bharat TV in London.
Musarrat had moved the London High Court against Republic TV after its controversial anchor Arnab Goswami had called the property developer a “stooge” of Pakistan’s top spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) during a show aired on July 22, 2020 in the UK.
The London high court held that there was no evidence behind assertions that he was an “ISI stooge”.
Goswami in his show also displayed Musarrat’s picture with Bollywood stars with caption: “Should Bollywood renounce any links with Pakistanis who take a pro-terrorist line?”
Musarrat has close ties with former prime minister Imran Khan and other political leaders.
During the proceedings of the case, Worldview Media Network Limited, which holds the license to broadcast Republic Bharat TV in the UK, did not appear and the judgement by Deputy Master Toogood was announced in the absence of the defendant.
“Although I make my decision based on the claimant’s evidence alone, I note that the programme contained no evidence whatsoever to support its assertions that the claimant was engaged in anti-India activities including assisting in terrorism against India.
“I summarily assess the claimant’s costs in the total sum of £37,500.”
The court agreed that “there is no realistic prospect of the defendant providing an apology”.
