Qualified privilege defence to be tested in UK libel battle between two Pakistani broadcasters

A judge dismissed an application for summary judgment, saying the defence should be tested in court.

High Court in London — Royal Courts of Justice. Picture: Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The UK’s qualified privilege defence for libel will be tested in a court battle between two Pakistani broadcasters.

The founder and president of ARY Digital Network, which owns the Urdu-language TV channels ARY Digital and ARY News, is suing Geo News, another Urdu channel that broadcasts in the UK.

ARY’s Salman Iqbal has complained about coverage on Geo News of a political rally held by the Pakistan Muslim League on 19 May 2022 at which the group’s vice president Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and niece of the then-PM Shehbaz Sharif, criticised him and his network.