Zia Chishti wins major defamation case against Narratives Magazine

LONDON/LAHORE: Pakistani-American tech entrepreneur Zia Chishti has won a major defamation lawsuit against Narratives Magazine and its editor Amir Zia over false, defamatory and malicious allegations.

Narratives Magazine had levelled serious accusations against Chishti, labelling his reputation as “toxic” and citing allegations of sexual misconduct and violation of securities and other corporate laws against him.

Chishti is a serial tech entrepreneur who founded the multibillion-dollar company behind Invisalign dental braces and artificial intelligence company Afiniti.

President Mamnoon Hussain awarded Chishti the Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 2018.

Additional District Judge Lahore Muhammad Farhan Nabi has ruled that Chishti was defamed without any basis and out of malice. In a scathing ruling, the judge stated that Narratives Magazine had offered no credible evidence whatsoever in its defence, and that the magazine had caused Chishti severe damage.

The additional district court awarded Chishti the largest defamation damages award in Pakistani history, stating that the editor “is also directed to publish a clarification along with apology in his magazine regarding the article in question”.

When reached for comment, Chishti said: “I thank the Lahore High Court for providing me justice. I also want to thank my family and my closest friends for standing with me through exceptionally difficult times. This is the first of many cases I intend to win as the truth increasingly comes to light.”

Harvard Professor Emeritus and renowned litigator Alan Dershowitz took a personal interest in the proceedings. He commented in a statement: “The decision from the Lahore High Court in Pakistan is the first to vindicate Chishti’s position that the allegations against him are just that: allegations. I have advised Mr Chishti and followed this case with interest. It is part of a broader set of defamation lawsuits brought by Mr Chishti, including suits against his accuser in the US and The Telegraph in the UK. Many in politics, business, and the press rushed to judge Mr Chishti simply on the allegations levelled against him, without giving Mr Chishti any opportunity to establish his innocence.”

Dershowitz continued: “The Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives, for example, allowed his accuser a national stage to level her accusations, without providing any opportunity to Mr Chishti for rebuttal. Such conduct is an unfortunate feature of the present climate in which the principles of justice on which all nations governed by the rule of law — due process and a strong presumption of innocence — have taken a back seat to virtue-signalling and ‘always believe the victim’ thinking. By setting the record straight in the courts, Mr Chishti is taking a brave step both towards clearing his name and towards finding a better balance between the rights of the accuser and the accused.”

Chishti was represented in this case by barrister Faisal Nawaz. Nawaz commented: “I am proud to have represented Chishti in this case, and glad to see justice done. As the Court has ruled, Narratives Magazine acted with malice and with no basis in fact in attacking Chishti.

Amir Zia never even attempted to reach Chishti for comment before rushing to publish falsehoods. This reprehensible behaviour deserved and received the strongest sanctions.”

This case in Pakistan will likely have broader ramifications. Chishti has filed several defamation lawsuits, including one against Britain’s powerful right-wing paper The Telegraph. In late 2021 and early 2022, The Telegraph published a series of articles about Chishti. As with Narratives Magazine, The Telegraph had picked up on his former employee Tatiana Spottiswoode’s allegations against him, which were delivered in front of the US Congress in November 2021.

Chishti is represented in the UK by Adrienne Page KC, who declined to comment based on the pendency of the proceedings.

Chishti has also sued Spottiswoode and her attorneys for defamation in the United States. In his US complaint, he included text conversations with Spottiswoode that seemingly indicate a consensual relationship. The evidence shows the relationship was based on mutual consent and trust, spread over months and years.

A key part of Spottiswoode’s defence appears to be that because her allegations against Chishti were made to the US Congress, she has legal immunity against Chishti’s defamation lawsuit.

In the US, Chishti is represented by Benjamin Chew, a well-known litigator who successfully represented actor Johnny Depp under similar circumstances.

Chew said in a statement: “The Lahore High Court issued a detailed memorandum judgment sustaining all elements of Zia Chishti’s defamation claim against the author of a now thoroughly discredited hit piece. Specifically, the Honourable Muhammad Farhan Nabi, District Judge, ruled that the article at issue in Mr Chishti’s complaint ‘is defamatory in nature and contains unfounded, false, baseless and disparaging statements and representations in written form against the plaintiff to injure his reputation in the society.’”

Chew continued: “In imposing the highest defamation award in Pakistani history, Judge Nabi underscored the strength of Mr Chishti’s claims, and the unfairness of the author’s approach: ‘That the malicious and malafide intention of the defendant is clear from the fact that while editing, publishing and circulating the article [Chishti] was not provided any opportunity to express his viewpoint in respect of the false, unfounded and baseless allegations made against [him] in the article.’ We believe and hope that this important decision should be the first of several vindications of Chishti and his reputation.”

As a result of the allegations against him, in November 2021, Chishti stepped down from his leadership of TRG. Since then, the company has been led by Chishti’s former business associates Hasnain Aslam and Mohammed Khaishgi who have initiated litigation in both Pakistan and the US against Chishti seeking to prevent him from retaking control of TRG. In turn, Chishti has accused Khaishgi and Aslam of various civil and criminal misconduct and called for a general meeting of shareholders to remove them from their positions on the board of TRG.

People associated with TRG declined to comment on the record. Repeated emails to the attorneys representing Spottiswoode and her co-defendants offering them the opportunity to state their position without the benefit of immunity provided by the US Congress went unanswered.

Amir Zia told this reporter he had provided an initial response to the lawyers of Zia Chishti and said he would challenge the verdict.