Lord Nazir admits he was wrong about Jang, Geo and 'Aman Ki Asha'

KARACHI: Member of the British House of Lords, Nazir Ahmed, has admitted that his allegations against Jang and Geo group, its Editor-in-chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, and Aman Ki Asha were wrong as he was misled about them.

Lord Nazir Ahmed's admission comes days after ARY Network was exposed for levelling baseless allegations against Editor-in-Chief Jang and Geo group Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.

The London High Court, in its verdict in the defamation case filed by Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, ordered ARY to pay £3 million in damages and costs in a historic win for Jang and Geo group and its editor-in-chief. ARY admitted that it could not prove its accusations with evidence, clearing Jang and Geo group and its editor-in-chief of all allegations.

Furthermore, ARY failed to comply with the court's orders after which British media regulator Ofcom revoked all six ARY Network licenses and shut down its TV channels owned by the network in the UK.

It is now that Lord Nazir Ahmed, who is in Britain for past 40 years and is known for raising voice for Kashmir and Pakistan, also admitted that 'Aman Ki Asha' campaign was meant for good.

The Pakistan-born British politician said, upon investigating, it turned out that he was misled about Jang and Geo group.

"The information and documents provided by some politicians, business figures, and business rivals of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and a few anchors for levelling allegations against Jang and Geo Group all turned out to be bogus upon verification," he said.

"Upon investigating, I found out Aman Ki Asha was a transparent campaign aimed at doing good and there was no evidence of its funding from abroad," he said speaking to Geo News' senior journalist Saleem Safi.

Asked by Safi about his allegations that India and RAW were also supporting the campaign, he said that he had received documents, but no evidence was found after investigation.

When the anchorperson suggested he should have approached Imran Khan as he might have had more information, Lord Nazir Ahmed said he does not want to confront ten more people, adding, "If something is clear, it should be admitted".

Commenting on Geo's Zara Sochiye campaign, he said it too was funded transparently and in accordance with the law.

He went on to admit that, when investigated, his allegation pertaining to salaries of Jang and Geo group employees also proved to be wrong.

Lord Nazir Ahmed has withdrawn all his allegations against Jang and Geo Group and its editor-in-chief after they were proved to be wrong.