Meesha Shafi, the well-known rock star of Pakistan, has won the first part of her defamation lawsuit against ARY’s UK broadcaster (NVTV).
The London High Court’s preliminary issues trial found that the channel had defamed Shafi at the highest level through some broadcasts involving her and singer Ali Zafar.
While celebrating this win Meesha took it on the platform ‘X’ and wrote, “LONDON HIGH COURT PASSES JUDGMENT IN MY FAVOR against #ARY after they aired disinformation, slandering me & misleading people to believe I am running from pk courts because they decided I am a liar instead of fact-checking
The broadcast in question was aired by ARY UK on December 5, 2020, in which reports presented by newsreaders and on tickers were submitted as evidence.
The channel now has to submit its defence to the court by January 26, 2024.
In 2018, Ms Shafi accused singer and actor Ali Zafar of physical sexual harassment, in what was thought to be the first #MeToo moment in Pakistan.
Mr Zafar, who has recently been crowned ‘Pakistani Singer of the Year’ at the prestigious Distinctive International Arab Festival Awards, filed a defamation case against Ms Shafi.
She filed a case of sexual harassment in the LHC against Mr Zafar, but the claim was rejected on technical grounds that her allegations did not fall under the workplace harassment law.
In 2021, the Supreme Court agreed to hear her case to determine whether her allegations against Mr Zafar fall under the country’s Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act of 2010.
