LAHORE: Actor Iffat Omar on Saturday said singer Meesha Shafi had told her about the incidents of alleged sexual harassment she faced at the hands of singer-actor Ali Zafar two weeks before the revelation on Twitter.

During her cross-examination before a sessions court, seized with a defamation suit of Zafar against Meesha, Ms Omar said Meesha had told her about the alleged incidents at a dinner on the next day at her (Ms Omar’s) place. She said Shafi and her mother, Saba Hameed, were deeply upset at the dinner.

Advocate Umar Gill showed Ms Omar pictures of the dinner, which she admitted were of the dinner. He alleged that Iffat Omar was misstating because Meesha and her mother were looking happy and excited in the pictures.

Responding to other questions of the plaintiff’s counsel, Iffat Omar said she had been taking medicines for depression and blood pressure. She also admitted to having a conflict with a co-actor, Nosheen.

The counsel also objected to the intervention of Ms Shafi’s counsel during the cross-examination of the witness.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Imtiaz Ahmad adjourned further hearing till Jan 6 when the counsel would resume the cross-examination.

Ms Omar had recorded her testimony in the case last year but her cross-examination was still pending. She had told the court that Saba Hameed and her daughter Meesha both enjoyed a good reputation in the industry and were highly respected. Ms Omar said she could never imagine that they would ever lie.

In his suit, Zafar submitted that Meesha Shafi, through a tweet on April 19, 2018, had leveled baseless allegations of sexual harassment against him, which tarnished his image in the public and caused agony of pain for his family.

He said Ms Shafi failed to delete her tweet or issue an apology within 14 days of a legal notice served on her.

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2020