The cyber crime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has charged singer Meesha Shafi and eight others on Monday for being party to slandering singer-actor Ali Zafar, reported Dawn.
On the order of FIA special court FIR against the suspects was filed for a non-cognisable offence.
Ms Shafi, actor-host Iffat Omar, Leena Ghani, Fariha Ayub, Maham Javaid, Ali Gul, Haseemuz Zaman Khan, Humna Raza and Syed Faizan Raza are being charged under section 20 (1) of Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 and R/W 109-PPC.
FIR cyber crime wing books Meesha Shafi and accomplices
“Prior permission from the special court is required by the investigation officer to arrest the suspects as it is a non-cognisable offence,” an official told Dawn.
The suspects were called on to present their defence multiple times by the FIA cyber crime wings, which they failed to do and then resulted in criminal proceedings against them, according to the FIR.
Read more: Nine witnesses reject Meesha Shafi’s allegation of sexual harassment in court
Ali Zafar filed a complaint with FIA cyber crime wing in November of 2018, claiming that numerous social media accounts were posting “threats and defamatory material” and held that several fake accounts were created for the purpose of slander and were connected to Meesha Shafi before her allegations of sexual harassment. Zafar provided details of the accounts as supporting evidence.
“A twitter account @nehasaigol1, which posted 3,000 defamatory tweets against me and my family only in one year, [was] created 50 days before Meesha’s allegations of sexual harassment,” Ali Zafar told the FIA with supporting ‘evidence’.
Ali Zafar demands Rs 1 billion in damages
The FIR holds the Meesha Shafi failed to produce witnesses that could support her claim against Ali Zafar of sexual harassment. According to the FIR Leena Ghani, Ali Gull, Humna Raza, Syed Faizan Raza and other individuals all involved in slandering Zafar’s name in public were summoned by the FIA court but there statements were found to be unsatisfactory.
Read more: Ali Zafar says was targeted for personal gains in sexual harassment case
A defamation suit filed by Ali Zafar against Meesha Shafi has been pending with a session’s court. The suit entails Ali Zafar’s stance that Meesha Shafi on April 19, 2018, propagated baseless and false allegations against him through Twitter, leading to defamation and damaging his image.
Read more: Meesha Shafi – How many women will it take to hold Ali Zafar accountable?
Zafar claimed that Shafi even after being served with a legal notice, failed to delete her tweet and issue a public apology for her remarks. Zafar demanded that the court issue a decree against Shafi and that he should be payed Rs 1 billion by Shafi for the damages he has incurred.
GVS News Desk with additional input by other sources