Singer Meesha Shafi has taken her legal battle to the Lahore High Court (LHC), challenging a sessions court ruling that ordered her to pay Rs5 million in damages to fellow singer Ali Zafar.
The verdict was delivered by Additional Sessions Judge Asif Hayat, who ruled in Zafar’s favour in the high-profile defamation case. The court declared Meesha’s tweet from April 19, 2018, and her interview two days later as false and defamatory imputations against Zafar, and also permanently barred her from repeating the harassment allegations on any platform.
Meesha’s legal team has now moved the LHC, arguing the trial court made errors in its judgment. Her lawyers contend that the trial court misread and selectively interpreted evidence, failed to properly consider material evidence presented by Meesha, and overlooked the legal context, particularly that her sexual harassment complaint against Ali Zafar is still pending before the Supreme Court.
Meesha first filed a harassment complaint before the Ombudsperson of Punjab, which was rejected on technical grounds since she and Zafar did not share an employer-employee relationship. Her appeal against that dismissal remains pending in the Supreme Court.
The case stretched over eight years, with nine judges changed, 283 hearings held, and 20 witnesses examined. Zafar also filed a separate cybercrime complaint with the Federal Investigation Agency, alleging a coordinated online smear campaign against him.
The LHC appeal means this landmark case, widely regarded as Pakistan’s most prominent #MeToo dispute, is far from over.
