LAHORE- Meesha Shafi has been in the spotlight after she accused Ali Zafar of sexual harassment. Her action made other women come out and join forces with Meesha. Many have hailed Meesha’s statement as a major milestone in Pakistan’s own #MeToo movement.
Meesha Shafi had accused Ali Zafar of harassment last year. This was followed quickly by a defamation suit by Zafar. The celebrities and their lawyers have been in a legal battle since.
Here’s a timeline of what’s happened so far since Meesha came forward with the allegation.
April 19th, 2018
Meesha Shafi released a statement on Twitter alleging that Ali Zafar sexually harassed her.
Although the singer didn’t reveal details of the incident, she claimed that she had “been subjected, on more than one occasion, to sexual harassment of a physical nature at the hands of a colleague from my industry: Ali Zafar.”
Meesha also requested other women from the industry to come forth with their own stories of sexual harassment.
Her mother Saba Hamid, stood in support of her daughter’s decision to speak publicly. “I am totally behind my daughter and I support her. I’m hurt and angry and I feel very strongly about this. That this can happen with someone like Meesha who is so empowered is a rude awakening.”
Later on, the same day, Ali Zafar responded to Meesha’s allegations and released a statement.
The Teefa in Trouble actor categorically denied “any and all claims of harassment lodged against me by Ms Shafi”.
https://twitter.com/AliZafarsays/status/986969628869046272
He added that he intends to deal with matter legally.
Right after this exchange of Tweets, there has been an online battle between those who support Meesha and those who stand with Ali Zafar.
Celebrities including Osman Khalid Butt(the first to address the issue) and Urwa Hoccane offered clear and unflinching support to Meesha Shafi.
https://twitter.com/aClockworkObi/status/987001646633930753
However, Maya Ali stood by her co-star Ali Zafar.
Actor Ayesha Omar came forward with her own #MeToo story.
Speaking at Geo News show Lekin, Ayesha shared that she has been a victim of “serious harassment” by a member of the industry. She added that she doesn’t have the strength to talk about it right now.
“I hope I’m as brave as Meesha Shafi one day,” she said. “The thing is that it’s when people like Meesha come forward, that other people draw the strength to tell their stories.”
Momina asks Ali Zafar to apologise as allegations of sexual harassment grow.
April 21st, 2018
In an interview with Instep, Meesha revealed the details of the harassment incidents and why she chose to speak up.
“I was jamming with my band in Lahore and the organisers insisted that he was trying to get in touch. It started turning into a thing, and I was being seen as difficult or a diva, I got such feelers. I was avoiding him. I was asked to jam, figure out songs, scale and it happened while we were jamming.”
“I have started talking to people and divulging my experience. I’m finding it hard on my conscious [sic] to stay silent any longer than this because I’m seeing such brave girls and women speaking up – not just around the world – but here as well,” she said in the interview.
April 22nd, 2018
Ali Zafar’s bandmates extended their support to the singer. According to them, not only have they never experienced any harassment from the singer but also find it hard to believe that he would ever do such a thing.
They received lots of backlash for their comments with people pointing out that just because it doesn’t happen to them it doesn’t mean it can’t happen to anyone.
April 23rd, 2018
Rumours about Ali Zafar sending a legal notice to Meesha Shafi started circulating on social media.
According to the speculations, Ali demanded an apology from Meesha and asked her to take down her tweet accusing him of harassment otherwise he will file a Rs100 million defamation suit against her.
April 24th,2018
Meesha’s lawyers confirm that she is yet to receive a legal notice but Ali’s manager had said that they plan on sending a notice to her soon.
Meesha, meanwhile, took to Twitter to inform everyone that she has appointed Mohammed Ahmed Pansota and Nighat Dad as her representatives for all legal matters pertaining to her harassment claim against Ali Zafar.
April 25th, 2018
Musician/actor Ali Zafar’s legal counsel sends Meesha Shafi a Rs100 crore defamation notice for the sexual harassment allegations she made against him on Twitter.
April 27th, 2018
Without naming anyone, Sanam Saeed expressed her support for Meesha Shafi and the #MeToo movement in a post on Instagram.
May 4th, 2018
UN Women Pakistan issued a statement in support of victims of sexual harassment on Twitter, saying: “There must be consequences for those who choose to abuse and not to comply… We say to the women who are speaking up: we hear you, we are with you.”
https://twitter.com/unwomen_pak/status/992425308195258370
Though the organisation did not directly name Meesha Shafi, it did appear to be referring to the allegations made against Ali Zafar by Meesha.
May 12, 2018
Meesha Shafi’s lawyers responded to the legal notice sent by Ali Zafar, saying: “We categorically deny all allegations, assertions and/or insinuation made in your notice against our client, all of which are legally and factually incorrect…The Notice is hence rejected it in its entirety.”
Shafi’s legal counsel asked Zafar to issue an apology for “the wrongs he committed against women” and that it is a demand which will not impact Shafi’s right to initiate civil or criminal proceedings in the future.
June 25, 2018
Musician and actor Ali Zafar filed a case worth Rs1 billion against Meesha Shafi in a sessions court in Lahore, accusing her of defamation. Shafi was to file her response to the court by July 5.
June 27, 2018
After it was revealed that Zafar had filed a defamation case in a Lahore sessions court, Meesha Shafi’s legal representatives Nighat Dad and Ahmed Pansota took to Twitter to inform the public that Meesha has also filed a sexual harassment case against Ali Zafar and that the case was still pending before the relevant authorities.
https://twitter.com/Pansota1/status/1011253229911465989
August 01, 2018
Meesha Shafi’s sexual harassment complaint against Ali Zafar was rejected by the provincial ombudsman and the Punjab Governor in a later appeal.
Shafi’s legal team had filed a sexual harassment complaint before the provincial ombudsperson, who can hear cases as per provisions laid out in the Protection Against Harassment of Women in the Workplace Act 2010.
October 18, 2018
Meesha Shafi filed her response to a defamation case filed against her by fellow artist Ali Zafar in a Lahore sessions court.
In her reply to the court, Shafi has stated that Zafar had harassed her on more than two occasions.
In her reply to the court, Shafi rejected all the claims by Ali and has stated that Zafar had harassed her on more than two occasions.
“Ali Zafar harassed [me] at a private studio and family functions,” she said in the response submitted through her counsels Mohammad Saqib Jilani and Advocate Tasawwur.
She stated that she had been “compelled” to take action against Zafar because of the harassment incidents, adding that Zafar had also harassed several other female artists aside from her.
“I will also provide evidence [of the allegations] when the court asks for it,” Shafi said.
Denying all defamation charges levelled against her by Zafar, she said Zafar “is trying to act innocent before the court”.
She urged the court to dismiss the defamation suit filed against her by Zafar.
January 24, 2019
A sessions court in Lahore ordered Meesha Shafi to refrain from making any negative remarks against Ali Zafar over all media platforms, including social media, DawnNewsTV reported.
March 10, 2019
Ali Zafar takes legal action against Meesha Shafi for alleged misrepresentation, misstatement and submitting forged documents before a sessions court seized with a defamation suit of the former against the latter for accusing him of sexual harassment.
Ali Zafar in his petition pleaded that the statement filed by Meesha Shafi is a complete mismatch to the dates and sequence of events.
Meesha was in Pakistan on the date confirmed by the oath commissioner and the events that were mentioned, took place abroad on a later date.
April 9, 2019
Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered a sessions court to wrap up the defamation lawsuit between Ali Zafar and Meesha Shafi within a span of three months.
Justice Masood Jahangir of the LHC gave a three-month extension to the model as he took up a petition by her, setting aside the order by the lower court on the plea filed by Zafar of concluding the case by April 15.
April 10, 2019
A sessions court on Wednesday fined singer Meesha Shafi Rs10,000.
The court, hearing Ali Zafar’s defamation case against Meesha Shafi, imposed the fine over the non-appearance of her lawyer in court.
Zafar’s lawyer Ambreen Qureshi said Meesha Shafi’s failure to appear in court was a blatant attempt to delay the case.
April 12, 2019
Meesha Shafi petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) rejection of her petition to have the statements of Ali Zafar’s witnesses recorded and their cross-examination conducted in separate hearings.
The courts had turned down Shafi’s petitions, with the LHC adding that the request was “devoid of any merit” as the defendant was cognizant of the witnesses’ names and has had reasonable time to prepare for cross-examination.
Shafi, through her attorney, challenged the high court’s ruling in the apex court today, stating that “the valuable right” of cross-examination must be “real, fair and reasonable” to the defendant.
April 27, 2019
While speaking to media outside a session court in Lahore, Zafar claimed that he was targeted through an organised plan for personal gains. He further clarified that Meesha’s case was dismissed as was her appeal and “I am not guilty in the eyes of law.”
https://twitter.com/AliZafarsays/status/1122050935700840448
“I was targeted through a proper plan for personal gains. All such campaigns against me are based on lies.”
Social media campaigns “are still ongoing against me and I have taken this up with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA),” Zafar stated, adding that, “Meesha’s lawyer has been following and retweeting fake accounts.”
April 29, 2019
While speaking to the host Shahzad Iqbal, of Geo’s show ‘Naya Pakistan’, Ali started crying claiming that a social media campaign against him is sabotaging his career.
With a breaking voice, he justified his way of dealing with the ordeal of the two singers yet denied sexually harassing Meesha at any point in time.
He was teary when talking about how much this case has affected his family.
https://twitter.com/ShareToAware/status/1122567910369656832
The singer also appeared with his wife as well to clear the air about the allegation against him. Now the couple is personally advocating against Meesha’s statement.
Ali’s wife is backing him up and is insisting that he is innocent.
https://twitter.com/AyeshaFazli/status/1122388396951908352
The couple discussed the reputation of Meesha that according to some people is not as reliable. Ali’s wife asked why would Meesha not approach her directly in a scenario as such since they know one another since their school days.
April 30, 2019
Meesha’s legal team finally addressed the matter and gave out a public statement, on her behalf.
Nighat Dad, the main lawyer on the case, shared an official statement regarding the dismissal of a harassment case.
https://twitter.com/nighatdad/status/1122827146253283329
Meesha made her first television appearance since the harassment and defamation cases were filed in court, Meesha told Geo News in an exclusive interview that she had discussed the issue with Zafar’s legal representatives before bringing sexual harassment allegations against the latter.
Meesha said that she wanted to avoid the incident and did not speak on it publicly for four months as she did not want to perform again with Ali Zafar after that. For this, she tried to communicate him through some representatives but after the issue was not resolved she had to reveal it on a tweet.
