Meesha Shafi has trashed and shut down fake news reports which stated that she is being “sentenced to 3 years in jail for falsely accusing Ali Zafar of sexual harassment”.
“Another day, another campaign spreading false information,” wrote the singer on Twitter. “Speaking up is way more exhausting than being groped.”
Meesha further said: “This is why we end up suffering in silence. Sending lots of love and solidarity to all who speak up. It’s hard!”
Meesha’s lawyer Asad Jamal also trashed the reports saying that “no such verdict has been passed by [the] trial court in the frivolous criminal defamation case instituted by Ali Zafar.”
According to a report published in Samaa News, the entire matter started when fake news claiming that Shafi has been given a three-year sentence in a defamation case filed by Zafar started flashing on different Indian media outlets.
On March 12, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ)published an article titled ‘Pakistani Singer Faces Prosecution for Accusing Pop Star of Groping Her‘. The report explained how Meesha “set off the country’s most high-profile #MeToo debate when she accused a fellow pop star of groping her. And now she was being prosecuted on a criminal defamation charge and is facing possible prison time.”
UK-based tabloid Daily Mail misinterpreted the article in WSJ and wrote a misleading and false headline, which the Indian media picked and ran without verification. It is pertinent to add here that Zafar is a well-known name in India as he has worked in several successful Bollywood films.
Later, Meesha also shared how she deals with “propaganda, abuse and false information”, detailing an hour-by-hour account of her day.
Earlier, the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan approved Shafi’s harassment case against Ali Zafar for hearing, which meant that the SC granted permission to hear the appeal based on its legal points and will deliberate whether Shafi’s accusations of sexual harassment come under the workplace harassment law.
Background of the case
In 2018, Meesha first came forward with allegations of sexual harassment against Ali Zafar. She later filed a complaint with the provincial ombudsperson. After her appeal was rejected, she approached Governor Punjab, who upheld the ombudsperson’s decision. Meesha then challenged the Governor’s decision in Lahore High Court which again dismissed Meesha’s case for hearing on grounds that she did not have an employer-employee relationship with the accused.
