A Lahore courtroom has dominated in favour of Pakistani singer Ali Zafar in his defamation case in opposition to fellow singer Meesha Shafi. On Tuesday, the courtroom ordered Shafi to pay Zafar 5 million rupees ($17,900) in damages.
Zafar sued Shafi for defamation in 2018 after she accused him of sexual harassment in Pakistan’s highest-profile #MeToo case.
What has the courtroom dominated?
The courtroom’s ruling, which has not been launched to the general public however has been seen by a number of Pakistani media shops, states {that a} 2018 social media submit by Shafi and an interview she gave to a way of life journal contained “false, defamatory and injurious imputations” in opposition to the plaintiff, Zafar.
The courtroom discovered that her allegations of sexual harassment of a bodily nature had not been proved to be true or proven to be made for the general public good, and subsequently constituted actionable defamation, in line with Pakistan’s main day by day newspaper, Daybreak.
The courtroom added that Shafi was to be “completely restrained from repeating, publishing, or inflicting to be printed, straight or not directly, the aforesaid defamatory allegations of sexual harassment of a bodily nature in opposition to the plaintiff, in any type of media”.
This order shall be appealed to the Excessive Courtroom, Nighat Dad, the lawyer who represented Shafi in courtroom, instructed Al Jazeera.
In addition to a member of Shafi’s authorized crew, Dad is the manager director of a nongovernmental, research-based advocacy organisation, the Digital Rights Basis.
She mentioned: “The attraction is prone to problem the judgement on a number of grounds: that the trial courtroom misinterpret and selectively interpreted the proof, did not correctly think about materials proof offered by Meesha, and ignored the authorized context, notably that her sexual harassment criticism in opposition to Ali Zafar remains to be pending earlier than the Supreme Courtroom.”
What was the #MeToo case involving Shafi and Zafar?
In April 2018, Shafi, now 44, posted an announcement via a collection of posts on X, then referred to as Twitter, accusing Zafar of sexually harassing her on a number of events.
Shafi wrote: “I’ve been subjected, on a couple of event, to sexual harassment of a bodily nature by the hands of a colleague from my business: Ali Zafar.”
Shafi added that she was talking up as an “empowered, completed lady who is understood for talking her thoughts!”
In her posts, Shafi referred to the worldwide “#MeToo” motion by ladies and women in opposition to sexual harassment and assault.
The hashtag gained worldwide prominence in 2017 when ladies in Hollywood and past started talking out within the wake of allegations in opposition to the previous American movie producer and now convicted intercourse offender, Harvey Weinstein.
Inside hours of Shafi’s submit, Zafar, now 45, responded on X: “I categorically deny any and all claims of harassment lodged in opposition to me by Ms Shafi.”
He added that he meant to take the allegation to “the courts of legislation” and to handle them legally slightly than “contesting private vendettas on social media and in flip disrespecting the motion”.
Shafi and Zafar have been as soon as identified to be buddies and are each distinguished figures in Pakistan’s leisure business. Each have additionally made appearances in movies outdoors Pakistan. Shafi even carried out a small cameo position in 2003 in a music video for Zafar’s first album.
In April 2018, Shafi spoke about her allegations in opposition to Zafar throughout an interview with trend and life-style journal Instep Pakistan.
She instructed the journal that she had not publicly spoken concerning the harassment on the time it occurred as a result of “I’m a public determine and so is he (Ali Zafar). My thought course of was who I’m and who he’s and what that’s going to result in. Being prepared to speak was far off as a result of it had simply occurred. I buried it.”
Produce other ladies accused Zafar of inappropriate behaviour?
Sure. A number of Pakistani celebrities and public figures posted in assist of Shafi on-line after her 2018 X posts.
Moreover, different ladies got here ahead to accuse Zafar of sexual harassment.
They included make-up artist and painter Leena Ghani, who wrote in an announcement on X in April 2018 that Zafar had on “a number of events” crossed the boundaries of what’s thought-about acceptable behaviour between buddies.
“Inappropriate contact, groping, sexual feedback mustn’t fall within the gray space between humour and indecency,” Ghani mentioned.
Maham Javaid, a journalist who now works for The Washington Put up, alleged in April 2018 that Zafar had tried to kiss her cousin and pull her inside a restroom in a now-deleted X submit.
How has the dispute between Shafi and Zafar unfolded?
The pair have filed a slew of complaints in opposition to one another.
In June 2018, Zafar filed his one‑billion‑rupee defamation go well with in opposition to Shafi. On the time, that was equal to greater than $8m. It’s now equal to $3.5m, because of the devaluation of the Pakistani rupee.
Shafi then filed a criticism concerning the alleged harassment earlier than the Ombudsperson Punjab for Safety In opposition to Harassment of Girls on the Office, later in 2018.
Her criticism was rejected on the technical grounds that she and Zafar didn’t have an employer-employee relationship. An attraction is pending within the Supreme Courtroom.
Zafar additionally filed a separate cybercrime criticism with the Federal Investigation Company (FIA) in November 2018, alleging that Shafi and others have been operating a coordinated smear marketing campaign in opposition to him on social media.
Primarily based on this report, the FIA filed a First Info Report (FIR) in opposition to Shafi and eight others in September 2020 below Pakistan’s Prevention of Digital Crimes Act (PECA).
These named within the criticism included Ghani, Javaid, comic Ali Gul Pir and actor Iffat Omar, who had publicly supported Shafi and posted crucial feedback about Zafar on-line. The PECA offences they have been charged below – legal defamation provisions masking “offences in opposition to dignity” – carried a most penalty of three years in jail.
It’s not identified publicly whether or not the FIA cybercrime case has reached a verdict.
In September 2019, Shafi filed her personal two-billion-rupee civil defamation go well with in opposition to Zafar in a Lahore courtroom, accusing him of constructing false allegations about her within the media. Two billion rupees was value roughly $13m when Shafi filed the go well with in 2019; because of the rupee’s steep depreciation, the identical quantity is now value about $7m. That case is ongoing.
What has been the response to this week’s defamation ruling?
Actor and tv host Iffat Omar, who was additionally named within the FIA cybercrime case and was additionally a witness for Shafi in Zafar’s defamation case in opposition to her, criticised the courtroom ruling in an X submit on Tuesday.
Omar wrote: “Individuals have been silenced, pressured, purchased, and scared. The complete assist system was damaged. On prime of that, we have been accused of operating a international agenda, of being paid enormous quantities in {dollars}. I mentioned it then, and I say it once more – show it in courtroom. I’m able to open all my financial institution accounts, all the pieces.”
Final week, Saqib Jilani, one other of Shafi’s attorneys, requested the Lahore courtroom to dismiss the defamation lawsuit, arguing that Zafar had not produced any concrete proof to assist his defamation claims.
Additionally final week, Shafi’s mom, the Pakistani actor Saba Hameed, who has been attending courtroom proceedings in Pakistan whereas her daughter lives in Canada, instructed reporters: “We’ve got been preventing this for eight years, and we’re not accepting defeat on this matter.”
What occurs subsequent?
Shafi’s authorized crew intends to attraction the defamation ruling in favour of Zafar to the Excessive Courtroom. “That is removed from the top of the street,” Dad instructed Al Jazeera.
She added that different authorized actions referring to this are ongoing.
“Meesha Shafi’s unique criticism of sexual harassment in opposition to Ali Zafar has been pending earlier than the Supreme Courtroom for a number of years now,” Dad defined, referring to the 2018 criticism dismissed on technical grounds by the Workplace of the Ombudsperson Punjab for Safety In opposition to Harassment of Girls, however which Shafi has appealed.
“Individually, Ali Zafar initiated a legal case alleging cyber-defamation in opposition to Meesha and her witnesses, which additionally reached the Supreme Courtroom and is at the moment stayed.”
Dad mentioned that Shafi’s civil defamation go well with in opposition to Zafar can be nonetheless pending.
Why is that this important?
“This ruling dangers setting a deeply troubling precedent,” Dad mentioned.
At the moment, she mentioned, survivors of sexual harassment face main authorized, social and reputational boundaries. Choices just like the Lahore courtroom’s current order are prone to discourage victims of sexual harassment “from talking out in any respect”.
“If defamation legislation is interpreted in a manner that punishes speech earlier than underlying harassment claims are even adjudicated, it shifts the burden unfairly onto survivors and reinforces silence over accountability,” Dad added.
“And that’s the actual hazard right here.”
