LAHORE: Singer and actor Ali Zafar has sought contempt proceedings against fellow singer Meesha Shafi for alleged violation of a sessions court order that restrained her from making any derogatory remarks against him till decision of a defamation suit.

In a contempt petition filed before the district and sessions court, Zafar pleaded through his counsel that the defendant continued to violate the restraining order and tweet about the ongoing litigation against her for levelling false allegations of sexual harassment on him.

He stated that the defendant is unjustified in tweeting that she was harassed by him when he already denied the charges in the media and court. He submitted that Ms Shafi tweeted in violation of the stay order and her act amounted to contempt of court for which she was liable to be punished.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Amjad Ali Shah is set to resume hearing on Zafar’s Rs1 billion defamation suit on Oct 7 wherein the defence has already completed cross-examination of the petitioner.

In his testimony, Zafar denied the charges and said he believed that a woman, if sexually harassed, should report the matter to an appropriate forum, which in his opinion was not social media. He claimed that the false allegations by Shafi caused him a great financial loss, mental agony and damage to his reputation.

In his defence, Zafar also produced a WhatsApp message of Shafi, which read: “Had a great time jamming and performing with Ali Zafar.” He said the message was sent by Ms Shafi two days after the jamming session in which she alleged that she had been harassed.

The petitioner presented more than 12 witnesses, including those present at the scene of the alleged occurrence. All the witnesses, including three women, denied the charges of sexual harassment.

The judge had directed the defendant (Shafi) to present her witnesses on the next hearing. The judge is also seized with a Rs2 billion defamation suit moved by Ms Shafi against Zafar, accusing him of tarnishing her reputation and public image by levelling false allegations.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2019