SHC asks Ali Zafar to file response by Feb 15 in Leena Ghani case

• A claim for Rs500 million against singer Ali Zafar was heard in the Sindh High Court
  
• Petitioner's lawyer said that Ali Zafar should be stopped from posting defamatory tweets.
  
• The court said that if the reply is not submitted in time, it will hear the petitioner's lawyer at the next hearing and issue a restraining order.
  

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on on Monday ordered singer Ali Zafar to respond to a Rs500-million defamation case, filed by Pakistani makeup-artist and activist Leena Ghani, by February 15.

Ghani had earlier filed a claim for Rs500 million against Zafar at the SHC, appealing to the judiciary "to stop Mr Zafar and his army of trolls from harassing me further".

Ghani's lawyer, in his comments, requested the court to refrain Ali Zafar from posting defamatory tweets against her. If, however, the singer assured not to repeat such actions, she would withdraw the petition, her counsel added.

On the other hand, Zafar's lawyer claimed that they had not tweeted anything of objection and that they would respond in the court after reviewing Ghani's petition.

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Zafar's counsel also requested the court to set a date in March to submit the reply but the SHC turned it down, saying his legal team had until February 15 to respond.

The court further warned that if a reply was not submitted in time, it would hear the petitioner's lawyer at the next hearing and issue a restraining order against Zafar.