Meesha Shafi wins initial defamation case against ARY UK

A High Court in the United Kingdom has found that New Vision TV, the broadcaster of ARY UK, has defamed singer Meesha Shafi in a December 2020 broadcast.

The broadcast was aired by ARY UK on December 5, 2020, in which reports were presented by newsreaders and on tickers as evidence.

In a preliminary hearing, the court found out that the channel had deliberately made defamatory remarks by implying that Meesha was failing to comply with court orders over two years and that the channel depicted Shafi as “someone who does not comply with legal requirements laid down by a court and engages in such behaviour repeatedly”.

The channel is now required to submit its defence to the court by January 26, 2024.

Sued ARY/NVTV in London High Court for broadcasting relentless lies about me

Judge has ruled in my favor!
Feeling very grateful 🙏🏼

The truth always shines through the darkness. @MurtazaViews @nighatdad pic.twitter.com/M7H1bFqWOg

— MEESHA SHAFI (@itsmeeshashafi) December 18, 2023

“Such an assertion would have the tendency of lowering the claimant [Ms Shafi] in the estimation of right-thinking people generally; it is contrary to the common shared values of our society for people to deliberately ignore court orders requiring them to attend court, and to do so repeatedly over an extended period…The claimant is a very high-profile Pakistani celebrity who has taken a leading role in the advancement of women’s rights, holding herself out as an example to society. Given the claimant’s standing, the words complained of are likely to have a seriously adverse impact on the way the claimant is treated, thus satisfying the seriousness threshold,” the court asserted.

The court examined the evidence in the broadcast, which said: “She [Ms Shafi] came to Pakistan, did her work and left. Singer Meesha Shafi threw the court orders to the winds. She came to Pakistan, recorded a song, and then returned to Canada. She did not present herself in court. Ali Zafar has filed a defamation lawsuit against Meesha.”

In 2018, Ms Shafi accused singer and actor Ali Zafar of sexual harassment, in what was thought to be the first #MeToo moment in Pakistan.