Actor Mamya Shajaffar has responded to fellow actor Arslan Butt’s legal notice—which accused her of defamation for discussing his on-set behavior—by serving a Rs1 billion counter-notice for harassment, defamation, intimidation, and damages.
On Tuesday night, Shajaffar shared a copy of her counter-notice on Instagram, labeling Butt’s May 22 notice as “false, misconceived, malafied, legally defective, and apparently issued with ulterior motives to pressurise, intimidate and silence my client after repeated acts of harassment committed by your client.”
Butt’s original notice took issue with remarks Shajaffar made during an interview regarding a costar’s behavior on a shared project, which she described as having made her feel “uncomfortable.” The notice referenced her appearance on the YouTube program Say It All with Iffat Omar, claiming she accused “Arsalan” of having “sexually harassed [her] on set.” In the interview, Shajaffar referred to the individual solely as “Arsalan,” later clarifying on social media that she was not referring to Arslan Khan, her College Gate costar.
Butt’s connection to the incident is being attributed to Iffat Omar, the show’s host, who purportedly indicated he was the person discussed. Shajaffar’s interview with Omar was released on May 21. In it, the actor mentioned several instances where “Arsalan’s” behavior made her “feel uncomfortable” and that he believed she was “someone to get fresh or frank with.”
Butt’s notice characterized Shajaffar’s allegations against “Arsalan” as “false, baseless, malicious and defamatory,” asserting they caused “serious reputational damage, mental distress, humiliation and public embarrassment” to Butt. The notice demanded Shajaffar “retract the allegations,” “take steps for the removal of the defamatory content,” “issue a clear, unconditional public apology and retraction” on YouTube, and “refrain from repeating such allegations in the future.”
Shajaffar’s counter-notice denies the allegations in Butt’s notice, “except what is specifically admitted herein.” “It is clarified that my client never made any false, fabricated or malicious allegation against your client. Whatever was stated by my client during the said interview/programme was based upon true events, actual conduct, personal experiences, surrounding circumstances and information supported through evidence, witnesses and electronic material presently in possession of my client. Your client is fully aware of his conduct and the repeated acts committed by him towards my client on various occasions,” reads Shajaffar’s notice.
“The interview itself does not contain any direct or categorical statement alleging ‘sexual harassment’ in the specific manner falsely portrayed in your notice,” it continued, stating that it “deliberately twists, exaggerates and misinterprets portions of the interview in an attempt to create unnecessary sensationalism and legal pressure.”
