Meesha Shafi | Pakistan

LAHORE: A sessions court on Tuesday ordered singer Meesha Shafi to pay singer-cum-actor Ali Zafar Rs5 million in damages. The court issued a short order in a defamation case filed against Shafi by Zafar for levelling allegations of sexual harassment. According to a copy of the short order — available with Dawn — the court found that that a social media post and an interview in Instep Today “contain false, defamatory and injurious imputations against the plaintiff (Zafar), whereby allegations of sexual harassment of a physical nature were levelled, which have not been proved to be true or made for public good, and thus constitute actionable defamation”. It noted that Zafar was entitled to compensatory damages on account of damage to reputation, dignity and mental anguish. However, it noted that the claim of special damages “has not been proved through cogent and reliable evidence”. “Accordingly, a sum of Rs5,000,000 … is awarded to the plaintiff as general damages only, recoverable from the defendant,” the ord...

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday upheld a trial court order restraining singer Meesha Shafi from making statements related to sexual harassment allegations against actor-cum-singer Ali Zafar until the conclusion of the defamation suit filed by the latter against the former. In the written order seen by Dawn, Justice Ahmad Nadeem Arshad observed that the veracity of the allegations cannot be determined without recording evidence and that repeated public statements while the matter was sub judice could amount to a “parallel media trial, which is neither permissible nor desirable in the interest of justice and fair adjudication”. The judge subsequently dismissed the plea filed by Shafi challenging the gag order issued by the trial court on Jan 24, 2019. Zafar had claimed that the allegations levelled against him by Shafi were false and had damaged his reputation. Along with the defamation suit, he had sought an interim injunction to prevent the defendant female singer from issuing further statement...