Ali Zafar files Rs. 55 crore defamation case against Meesha
What's the story
Singer-actor Ali Zafar has filed a defamation suit against colleague Meesha Shafi, who claimed the former sexually harassed her on more than one occasion. Zafar has demanded Rs. 55 crore for damages.
The suit was filed on Saturday and Zafar called the allegations 'slanderous'.
He claimed the allegations caused 'tremendous injury to his 'reputation, goodwill, livelihood'.
Here are more details about it.
The breakdown
Ali Zafar demands Rs. 22 crore for lost opportunities
Through the suit, Zafar demanded Rs. 1.1 crore for mental torture, Rs. 4.4 crore for loss of contacts, Rs. 27.9 crore for loss of reputation/goodwill and Rs. 22 crore for loss of business opportunities.
Earlier, Zafar's legal counsel had sent a notice to Shafi to delete the tweet slandering him. She was also asked to apologize within 14 days of receiving the notice.
Looking back
Meesha's counsel had maintained her allegations were true
On receiving the legal notice, Barrister Muhammad Ahmad Pansota said Meesha's allegations on Ali Zafar were absolutely true, so there was no question of a defamation suit.
Meanwhile, Zafar found support from two singers Aqsa Ali and Kanza Munir, who were supposedly present at the jam session where Meesha Shafi was allegedly harassed.
They slammed Shafi for using the #MeToo movement for her gains.
The allegation
What exactly is the backstory?
In April this year, Shafi had levelled sexual harassment charges against Zafar. She said the singer violated her more than once and added she couldn't stay silent anymore.
Dismissing the allegations, Zafar wrote on Twitter he respected women and supported the #MeToo movement, but there was no way Shafi was speaking the truth.
Last year, the #MeToo movement showed pervert side of many celebrities.