Singer Meesha Shafi said Monday she had a detailed meeting spanning over two hours with Ali Zafar’s representatives before she went public with sexual harassment allegations against the actor last year.
Speaking on Geo News’ program Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath, which marked her first television appearance since the harassment and defamation cases were filed in court, Shafi said she had wished to resolve the matter privately as she did not want to work further with Zafar, and that she had communicated this “privately through representatives in a very clear manner”.
“I was trying my best not to let this come out. I had given them the message that I do not want a controversy of any kind, and that I do not want this to come out in public,” she said.
“I have tried my level to sort the issue privately behind closed doors. But I didn’t get any breakthrough,” she added.
The singer said she conveyed the message that she did not want to work with Zafar but the response she got was that she should visit him at his residence to talk about it.
Shafi further said she was asked what she would have done had there been an apology. She said she sent her response to the offer of apology but Zafar went back to his request for her to meet him at his residence and never really explained how the issue would be resolved.
“During those four months after the incident, I did not speak about it as I had blocked it out.
“I was not thinking about it, nor was I thinking about how or when to talk about it,” she said.
“I had made a promise to myself that, after what I had experienced firsthand, I would not put myself in such a situation where I would feel vulnerable like this.”
Responding to performing on stage together with Zafar, Shafi said it was the concert organisers’ idea and that she only agreed to it on their insistence.
“It was part of the agreement as per the professional contract,” she said
She also underscored that she had a number of witnesses with her who are willing to record their statement in the court.
“As per the harassment laws, the witnesses’ testimony is taken as evidence,” she said.
The singer called the hashtag #FaceTheCourtMeeshaShafi as “incorrect”, as she maintained that, contrary to the perception being built that she is evading the hearings, she has not yet been summoned by the court.
“I will appear before the court whenever it summons me,” she maintained.
Shafi’s statement comes in response to singer Ali Zafar’s allegation that a social media campaign has been launched against him on her behest.
Speaking in Geo News’ show Naya Pakistan, Zafar had alleged that the paid accounts had been tasked by Shafi to tag companies who have hired Zafar along with the United Nations’ agencies so that his career can be ended.
Zafar had further claimed that Shafi wanted to immigrate to Canada but said he did not know why she had made the harassment allegations in the first place.
In response to Zafar, the programme’s host, Shahzad Iqbal, highlighted that Shafi’s Canadian PR had been approved in 2016.
“I don’t know why she is doing this… one should ask her. She should come to the court herself and reveal her true intentions,” said Zafar.
