Ali Zafar legal case dismissed
Technical clause leads to dismissal of case filed by Meesha Shafi
Pakistani actress-model Meesha Shafi’s sexual harassment appeal against actor Ali Zafar was dismissed on a technicality, leaving some social media users confused, while others rejoiced.
According to a report in The Express Tribune, a Pakistan-based English newspaper, Shafi had filed a complaint to the Governor of Punjab under the Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010. However, her appeal was rejected on the basis that she “wasn’t an actual employee at the time the harassment allegedly took place”, and was in no way bound by a formal contract. In a statement to the paper, Zafar’s team wrote: “The appeal was dismissed some time ago, around the same time Ali’s debut Pakistani film Teefa in Trouble was releasing. Therefore, we didn’t want the attention from the movie to be diverted.”
The minute the news broke, a conversation started on social media. Some users were seen celebrating the decision and calling out Shafi for a false case. Twit- ter user Yaseen Lakhani posted: “Teefa finally clear! Good news for Ali Zafar! Finally Punjab Government dismisses Meesha Shafi’s sexual harassment appeal.”
Twitter user @Rumsha_AZian added: “As a woman, Meesha has let me down by not going to court and proved that she lied. She didn’t even appear before the court in defamation case filed by Ali. I am glad her appeal has been rejected by the honourable Governor.”
There was also the other side of the spectrum, wherein social media users questioned the law and decision. Usama Khilji posted: “Meesha Shafi’s complaint not even heard for sexual harassment and Governor refused on a legal technicality that she was not an employee under contract when Ali Zafar harassed her. It is false to say she lost the case. This is due to gap in law, not her complaint. #TimesUp”
When he was asked about the case by tabloid! earlier in July, Zafar had said: “Whenever there is trouble in your life ... there’s a simple rule and fact. Believe in God and have faith. Believe that truth always prevails.
In April, Shafi took to Twitter to publicly accuse Zafar of physically harassing her on “more than one occasion”. Zafar, in retaliation, filed a Rs 1 billion (Dh30.2 million) defamation suit.