The Sindh High Court (SHC) has sprung into action against defamatory content circulating online about actor Kubra Khan, directing the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block the viral material.
The case concerns a controversial video posted last week by YouTuber Adil Raja, which targeted the country’s former top military officials. Raja’s claim linking four “top models and actresses” to former army leaders attracted widespread attention and set off a wave of condemnation across the entertainment industry.
In the video, the YouTuber, who calls himself a “geopolitical analyst” and “rights activist”, gave a set of initials (SA, MK, MH, and KK) for the names of the performers he was alluding to and did not provide any proof to substantiate his claims, citing only his “sources”. After the video went viral, several blog pages and social media accounts started circulating photos of the entertainers Raja had hinted towards, leading to a volley of vilifying posts and incessant trolling directed at them.
A number of leading actors came out on social media to show their support and denounced what they said was blatant character assassination of women entertainers. In the wake of the condemnatory firestorm, actor Kubra Khan threatened to sue the YouTuber and subsequently filed a petition against him.
The petition was heard on Friday (today) by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan, who issued notices to the director-general of the FIA, PTA’s chief and others for January 9. The authorities have been directed to file their comments.
The order, a copy of which is available with Digital Rights Monitor (DRM), calls for the blocking of 27 social media accounts and channels that carried and spread the defamatory material and directs the FIA and PTA to “remain vigilant in this regard”. The list, comprising both Twitter and Instagram accounts, was provided by the petitioner’s counsel, who accused Raja of making “blatantly false, derogatory, defamatory, malicious, incendiary, dangerous and sensationalizing allegations” against the four entertainers.
The counsel added that following the controversy, complaints were filed for the video’s removal with both FIA and PTA, but their inaction led to “irrecoverable and irreparable damage to the [petitioner’s] dignity and modesty”.
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— Kubra Khan Official (@KubraMKhan) January 5, 2023
In response to the court order, Khan said she exercised her constitutional rights and “relied” on the law to safeguard her reputation.
