Meesha Shafi case adjourned

LAHORE: An additional district and sessions court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of a defamation suit against singer Meesha Shafi by singer Ali Zafar by January 8.

As the hearing commenced, counsel of Ali Zafar resumed cross-examining Meesha, confronting her with a screenshot of her message in a WhatsApp group with Ali Zafar and event organiser Jalal. The message was sent after jam session where Meesha Shafi was allegedly harassed.

The message was read as “All thanks to you Jalal. Had a great time jamming and performing. Hectic but memorable. And so grateful for the kind words Ali had to say on stage. Now on to the next one.”

Zafar’s lawyer asked “Is this correct that you had a great time jamming?" To which Meesha Shafi replied “Not entirely no.”

The lawyer further asked her “is it correct that you did not make an entirely correct statement in WhatsApp group when referring to the great time jamming?” Shafi responded “Yes, I certainly replied as a courtesy as a matter of habit?”

Zafar’s lawyer also asked “I put to you no one had asked you a question in the WhatsApp group to which you were replying. This was a voluntary statement?. Shafi replied, “I cannot confirm either as some of the information on this page is reflecting a contradiction to what this WhatsApp group was originally like so I cannot verify that if this has been credited or not. However, my reasons for replying out of courtesy still stand.”

Meesha Shafi said there are no eyewitnesses to the incident of harassment, saying, “Yes, even I myself am not an eye witness to this incident.” I just felt it, I didn’t see it,” she said referring to her allegation of harassment at rehearsal.

Ali Zafar lawyer asked how many people were in that room during the rehearsal. Shafi replied “there were quite of few people may be somewhere 10 to 15 at its fullest.”