ISLAMABAD - The former husband of activist Muniba Mazari has filed a case against her for “blaming and bashing him for all her afflictions”. The activist has denied the allegations in tweets.
Khurram Shahzad, a former fighter pilot of the Pakistan Air Force, has filed a suit against Mazari in the court of additional district and sessions judge Muhammad Adnan for her “libelous statements”.
The plaintiff has submitted that the two got married on December 26, 2005. According to him, it was on February 27, 2008, while the plaintiff was posted at PAF base Quetta, when the two were travelling from Quetta to their hometown. Shahzad submits that he was driving the car. Upon reaching near Jacobabad, he says, suddenly a donkey cart appeared on the road and they met an accident in which Mazari sustained serious injuries.
According to Shahzad, despite having the provision of free treatment available at military hospitals, he opted for the best medical facility for his former wife at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi. Due to the severity of spinal cord injury, unfortunately, she could not be completely recovered rendering her wheelchair-bound for the rest of her life.
“After recovering from this trauma, the plaintiff and defendant were upset because of not having any child. In the opinion of doctors, the defendant could give birth to a baby but it was agreed mutually to go for adoption. In order to strengthen their relation they adopted a baby boy on 12 April 2011 when he was only four days old and looked after him like their own real son,” Shahzad said.
According to the petitioner, despite all his earnest efforts, the defendant started activities which he could not allow her. Shahzad says Mazari started visiting foreigners in diplomatic enclaves and embassies with her brothers, whom the plaintiff had given shelter in service accommodation. Similarly, she developed an interest in modeling, which was against moral, religious and social values and against the customs of Shahzad’s family, he argues.
“Being an esteemed officer of the defence forces, the plaintiff could not allow the defendant to continue such practices and eventually tried to stop her,” he said. “The defendant instead of stopping, with her free will and choice left the house of plaintiff in September 2014 along with the minor adopted son.”
He said that on March 6, 2015, she filed a suit for dissolution of marriage on the basis of Khulla. The plaintiff did not want to dissolve the marriage but she obtained Khulla from the court of Humaira Afzal of Islamabad and the suit was decree on June 12, 2015.
Nowadays, he said, the defendant has become a popular artist and, during her media shows on different forums, she talked wrongly about him and defamed him.
According to Shahzad, her contradictory statements are concealing the facts, are misleading the public at large and have been very painful for him as well as his family. He has prayed that the court decree for the recovery of damages of Rs10,000,000 on account of libelous and baseless statements of the defendant against the plaintiff in his favor.
“May God guide them”
Meanwhile, Mazari, the Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women in Pakistan, has expressed her version in some tweets, saying that she has faced such situations “many times before”. She adds that this time again, she will keep the matter “in the court”.
It has happened many times before, and I’ve always fought back gracefully without putting anything on social media! This time again I’ll keep this in the court! Peace and prayers!
— Muniba Mazari (@muniba_mazari) December 4, 2017
In another tweet, she prays that “May God guide them”, adding that she feels “sorry for this person who wants ‘money’ in the name of ‘defamation’ which never even happened”.