LAHORE: In a volte-face development in the defamation suit filed by singer cum actor Ali Zafar, a Lahore district court has issued arrest warrants for actor and socialite Iffat Omar and social media sensation Ali Gul Pir on Tuesday.
In the detailed verdict, which was released on Wednesday, a judicial magistrate issued a bailable arrest warrant of Iffat Omar and non-bailable arrest warrants of singer cum rapper in wake of rejecting pleas of exemptions from personal appearance.
Sources quoting the court proceedings said the judge trashed the exemption plea as it was not sufficient enough for not appearing before the court.
Previously, the actors filed the plea seeking exemption from personal appearance on grounds of living and working in the Sindh capital. The members prayed before the court that it was difficult for them to appear at all of the hearings.
The magistrate also summoned singer Meesha Shafi and Maham Javed on the next hearing and dismissed the pleas of co-accused Leena Ghani, Fariha Ayub, Faizan Raza, and Haseemuz Zaman for permanent exemption from appearance. The next date of the hearing is October 6.
The federal investigators had previously lodged a case under Section 20 of the Pakistan Electronic Crime Act and section 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code against nine for running a smear campaign against the complainant on social media.
FIA, in its investigation report, mentioned that the probe found that all the suspects including Meesha posted direct allegations and defamatory content on social media against the complainant.
Meanwhile, Iffat Omar and Ali Gul Pir have also reacted to today’s development saying dissent is against the influential person [Zafar] who bends the law by committing a crime and getting escape with it.
This low??😟u were a star once💔 pic.twitter.com/xFvWUskLWy
— Iffat Omar Official (@OmarIffat) September 8, 2021
Plz come and say all this in court on next date of hearing on 06.10.2021, 8 am sharp! Hope you won’t hide away this time. We have filed this case to set an example for those who think that someone’s life and dignity is a “joke”. #slander #metoo #misuse #cybercrime https://t.co/1xZK6b2T2c
— M. Umer Tariq Gill (@UmerTariq_Gill) September 9, 2021
The development is followed by a case lodged in April 2018, when Meesha accused Teefa in Trouble actor of sexually harassing her – a charge that Zafar denied. He later filed a defamation suit against her.
Earlier, Shafi’s appeals were trashed by the Lahore High Court and Punjab ombudsperson on the grounds that the alleged harassment was not covered by the workplace harassment law. However, the Supreme Court earlier this year approved her case against Zafar.
Here’s how ex-editor Dawn Images misused the platform to defame Ali Zafar
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