The Lahore High Court has paused the order that required Meesha Shafi to pay 5 million rupees in damages to Ali Zafar.

The court ordered Shafi to pay half of the damages in cash to the court and provide a guarantee for the other half.

BY Mahnoor | 08-May-2026

Meesha Shafi and Ali Zafar continue their legal battle as the Lahore High Court suspends the Rs5 million damages order against Meesha Shafi.

• The high court told Shafi he must pay half the damages owed.
• Zafar is asked to respond to Shafi's appeal.
• Disagrees with stopping the court's decision completely.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has put a hold on the order that Meesha Shafi must pay Ali Zafar Rs5 million. This follows a session court's decision against Shafi in a defamation case related to her sexual harassment claims.

In March, a Lahore court ruled in a defamation case filed by singer Zafar against Shafi, telling Shafi to pay Zafar Rs5 million in damages.

Judge Ahmad Nadeem Arshad reviewed Shafi's challenge to the lower court's ruling, which had ordered him to pay Zafar Rs5 million for defamation due to the accusations.

The court told Shafi to pay half the damages in cash to the court and provide a guarantee for the rest. The court also stopped the money from being immediately given to Zafar.

The court also sent a notice to Zafar, asking him to respond to Shafi's challenge of the lower court's decision. Further action has been delayed until the responses are received.

During the hearing, Shafi's counsel requested that the entire trial court verdict be suspended; however, the court rejected the plea, declining to grant a blanket stay on the decision.

However, the court did not change the trial court's decision that stopped Shafi from repeating the claims of sexual harassment.

The court said this part of the ruling can't be stopped for now. It also said no one is allowed to make claims of sexual harassment freely.

In 2018, Zafar sued Shafi for defamation, asking for Rs1 billion because Shafi accused him of sexual harassment. Zafar always said the accusations were false.

In April 2018, Shafi posted on Twitter, now called X, that Zafar had physically harassed her several times.