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Musician Ali Noor accused of sexual harassment, says he is 'truly, deeply sorry'

Musician Ali Noor accused of sexual harassment, says he is 'truly, deeply sorry'

Journalist Ayesha binte Rashid called him a sexual harasser and predator in an Instagram post.
19 Feb, 2022

Rock band Noori's lead vocalist Ali Noor has been accused of sexual harassment by a journalist, who came forward with her story on Friday via screenshots shared on Instagram.

The popular musician on Saturday morning apologised, saying he was "truly deeply sorry".

Ayesha binte Rashid, a journalist associated with Soch Fact Check and previously the Herald, posted screenshots of a WhatsApp message she sent to a phone number saved as Ali Noor on May 15, 2021.

"How to apologise without taking responsibility with Ali Noor," the post's caption read. The post was taken down and reuploaded to her account with the caption "Guys, the post is literally everywhere now, having Insta remove it off my profile won't take it out of the public domain."

In the screenshot, Ayesha's message to Noor starts with, "Hey Ali Noor. This is Ayesha binte. I've been thinking long and hard about what to say to you and I've finally found the words. You emotionally manipulated me and what happened in the back of my car while we were driving to the airport was sexual harassment. You should know that. You are a sexual harasser and predator."

"I’m never going to say this publicly because I have too much respect for Ali Hamza and Kami," the message from 2021 read. "I’m telling you this because you should know that people see through your bulls**t and you don’t scare anyone.

"And lastly, I hate you. You’re a womanising piece of sh*t with a God complex who is all talk yet doesn’t even have the proactiveness to break out of his toxic patterns. You may have fame but you don’t have any creative integrity and you haven’t made music in a long time that feels true to even yourself [...] mostly though, I feel sorry for you.

"It takes a real painful kind of self-hatred to exhibit the hypocrisy you’ve exhibited, a real sense of fear of accepting your true self."

The screenshot shows Ayesha having blocked Noor on WhatsApp after sending the message. The next screenshots show her receiving a message from Noor via a WhatsApp number saved under his wife's name. "Thank you for a serious wake up call and realisation," it reads. "You don't know but your message came at a time when I most needed it. It was like divine intervention, perfect timing, completely serendipitous."

The message went on to say how much Noor felt her pain. "[...] You on the other hand need to forgive. First yourself and then others around you. I'm the smallest fish in your sea of torment, you know it. But I am the most affected one. Please let's start again, maybe this event and consequent realisations were only meant to bring us closer."

In the final screenshots, Ayesha asks Noor to "please just leave me alone".

"My forgiveness is nothing more than a way to assuage your guilt so here it is: I forgive you. I don't hate you anymore. I've gotten it out of my system. I'm more and more indifferent to you. But when you message me like this and don't respect my boundaries, the trauma is just refreshed for me. It's unkind and selfish of you."

Ayesha's posts on Instagram don't specify when the incident took place or why she chose to come forward at this time. When reached out by Images, she said she did not have any further comment at this time.

Ali Noor responds

When contacted by Images, Ali Noor initially said he would address the allegations in a few days but then posted on his Instagram stories on Friday evening. He did not deny the accusation or the screenshots shared by Ayesha.

As part of a "letter" addressed to his grandmother via his Insta story — which has now been deleted — he wrote "today I put the teaser and release date of the video and song. But as I was doing that, I got a message from newspapers that I have been accused of MeToo by Ayesha binte and my screenshots of apologies have been put up [...] Anyway I am so glad she finally put it out."

"Finally my boredom is going to end and I might even become more famous. But you know I never gave a f**k about fame."

He then continued his letter and spoke about other matters, including his fans and music.

In his second story, posted Saturday morning, he directly addressed Ayesha and tagged her Instagram account.

“After deeply deliberating various responses, I came to the conclusion that the only right response is that I am truly deeply sorry,” he wrote.

“I cannot fathom your pain and only apologise once again. I am not an ill-intentioned person and am definitely a work in progress. I hope that you can find some relief in my apology. Baaqi Allah Malik [the rest is up to God].”

Messages of support

Ayesha via an Insta post on Saturday thanked people for all the messages of love and support.

"They do mean a lot. But the fact is that for the past one and a half years, whenever I have been able to share my experiences with those around me, the support has been lacklustre as best and hypocritical at worst,” Ayesha wrote.

“One of the first people I spoke to had many choice words to say about Ali Noor. A few weeks later, I opened Instagram to see a story he had uploaded of a jamming session with Ali Noor in a studio setting.”

She narrated similar incidents with three others — her best friend, another friend and a local yoga studio — whom she had told of her experience and who had commiserated but continued to associate with him.

"What is it about celebrities that causes us to turn the other way and ignore the pain they cause?" she questioned.

"When is that line crossed us for as a society? Is it only when a women is murdered or is it when someone is called out publicly and a media circus is created?"

"The point of all this is to remind you to please, please always hold yourselves and your loved ones accountable."

She ended her message with a request that people check in on those in their lives who are struggling. "Make them feel seen and heard and held. We only really have each other."

Comments

El Cid Feb 19, 2022 02:36pm
...was her way of attracting his attention!
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Abc Feb 19, 2022 02:46pm
These liberals will soon find out the outcome of trying to be the master of their own domain.
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Arrogantman Feb 19, 2022 02:49pm
Women now days enjoy the party and later on conscience wake and force her to character assassinate the men. In her message she realized that what happened , happened with her consent and in senses. Only harassment is harassment that is on spot harassment when you stop someone and still he advances later on is just a fabricated story or a stunt or revenge of deprivation.
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Nadim Feb 19, 2022 03:07pm
Would have been better if she restricted her story to the harassment. The more I read the less convincing it became. I am in no position to doubt her claim just commenting on how it came across.
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Citizen Feb 19, 2022 03:20pm
These people always cross limits.
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Mahmood Feb 19, 2022 03:29pm
"truly deeply sorry" For what, he did not elaborate. Sorry, for harassing this lady, or that he is sorry that he's a predator, who has been exposed? He is indeed a sorry character, with his cold black humor, sarcasm and not giving xxxx for fame... He deserves a lot less than that. She should not accept his cold and half-hearted apology but make him pay through the nose so it hurts.
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Sam Feb 19, 2022 03:32pm
Looks like a ruined private relationship with a woman scorned. Keep the world out of your pity issues.
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El Cid Feb 19, 2022 03:38pm
@Mahmood "She should not accept his cold and half-hearted apology but make him pay through the nose so it hurts." Yes, marry him and make him pay for the rest of his life.
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Skeptic Feb 19, 2022 03:47pm
Another case of 'he said, she said'. The truth may be somewhere in between.. Hmmm... so this happened in the back of a car, on the way to the airport?? What about the driver or other people in the car. Did they not witness this incident, did she protest when it was happening, or did they tried to intervene to stop it? Did they even stop the car to separate the two or take other steps to protect the lady - whose colorful choice of words in tweet, makes her sound less than innocent and fragile lady at best. Sounds like she is settling the score for being rejected or simply taking revenge for some other slight, while she enjoyed the ride and flirtations, which she suddenly realized, weeks later, was ''sexual harassment". Ooops, time to think of some strong language and put it on Twitter - instead of contacting the alleged harasser, or confiding in some professional, the Police, or family or friends for advice??? If I had pound for every time I heard such lame stories....
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Sajjad Feb 19, 2022 04:01pm
Incomplete story, I am unable to conclude who is at fault here.
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M. Saeed Feb 19, 2022 04:32pm
It is plain simple to understand from the selection of words used between the woman and the man in differences, who is decent and who is lowly.
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Saad Feb 19, 2022 04:33pm
@Arrogantman absolutely but it's not when the conscience wakes up. It's when they don't get what they wanted. After tik tok videos this is the easiest thing you can do these days
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Hasan Malik Feb 19, 2022 04:37pm
You can accuse anyone in this world without any proof. It is a scary world out there.
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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Feb 19, 2022 05:11pm
As you sow, so shall you reap.
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SKF Feb 19, 2022 05:15pm
What happened and how did it happen? Why was she travelling to airport with a sexual harasser and whatever happened to her friend ship? Still a lot of open questions
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SachBol Feb 19, 2022 05:24pm
This is more like a rant coming out of mix bag relationship.
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Ifti Malik Feb 19, 2022 05:43pm
Please don't wash your dirty laundry in public.
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Syed Hasni Feb 19, 2022 05:45pm
Is saying sorry is an admission of Guilt ? FYI Mr Ali Noor , legal protection of an apology are very limited. If I was his counsel would advise him to be very careful with what he say.
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Shahid Feb 19, 2022 06:03pm
Another example for aurat march
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Tamza Feb 19, 2022 06:05pm
A false flag attempt at publicity!!
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M. Saeed Feb 19, 2022 06:05pm
It is no harassment if the harassed is not afraid of self harassment by publicising the harassment.
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Shahid Feb 19, 2022 06:27pm
I don’t know why it feels as if these ladies make these things public only to get sympathy and fame. I just think, why did she not slap him at the time of happening but wait two years to announce it and then judge the public that who supported me and who did not.
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someguy Feb 19, 2022 07:08pm
@Mahmood Its just a fling and now she is bitter about being dumped.
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Zeeshan Ahmed Feb 19, 2022 07:28pm
@Abc they're not liberal, just ignorant.
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Jo Original Feb 19, 2022 07:37pm
Follow simple rules of professionalism Do your work Keep distance Avoid personal chat stick to work related messages
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Truth be told Feb 19, 2022 07:44pm
The amount of mixing of opposite sex behind closed doors is unprecedented. The Creator was aware of this and had set boundaries and laws. Not following them (the laws) leads to trauma, confusion and deeper issues even for the ones who think they are in control all the time.
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Nads Feb 19, 2022 08:20pm
Saving Ali Noors number under his wife’s name and getting in the back of a car with him… you do sound like a very good friend of Mrs Noor. See what happens when girls try to be funny with their friends husbands, they all just end up in tears themselves the friends and husbands.
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Asif Feb 19, 2022 09:24pm
Weird man right from the start.
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tsteaks Feb 19, 2022 10:11pm
So many people sympathizing with Ali Noor instead of her, you need to realize how subtle and invisible harassment is but how painful the psychological affects are on the victim. Please take a moment to realise how much courage it takes to stand up against a harasser knowing you’ll be attracting vitriol and victim blamers like you lot
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Secularist Feb 19, 2022 11:22pm
Reading several comments I, a male, can only surmise: Many men just don't get it, even after the inappropriateness of their behavior being drilled into their brains. How hard is to recognize that women are equal to men and deserve the same level of respect that men crave for. No means no.
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sultan Feb 19, 2022 11:42pm
Busted. And all of a sudden I am sorry and I am woke now. Yeah right.
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Fact Feb 19, 2022 11:46pm
The guy agrees that he harassed the lady.. shouldn't he be prosecuted for molestation? It could land him in jail for a couple of years...
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Man EE’s Feb 19, 2022 11:59pm
@Nads you’ve got it right can’t think more of any better reason .
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mukul Feb 20, 2022 01:11am
@Truth be told reallyyou live-in current world or in caves ??
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Ali Feb 20, 2022 02:54am
@El Cid your mind directly do there. We don’t know the truth. If we must mistrust others then why only women. What is wrong with men . Especially Pakistani men.
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Jafer Feb 20, 2022 05:45am
Utterly unbelievable. Not the story but the comments section. What have we come down to that instead of believing a woman when she says she’s been assaulted, the comments are filed with various insinuations that it was somehow her fault. She’s the victim - doesn’t matter what she wore, where she was, what she did. She is still the victim who seems to have had a man try and force himself on her. (Based on his apology, his version also corresponds to at least that). THINK - if the culprit is willing to apologise for his actions, how can you as readers defend his actions and/or blame the victim instead. If educated people who are aware of the wider cause for equality for women can have such nuanced views, the wider masses and the women of this country in general stand no chance of any progress being made to protect their rights.
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Salman Feb 20, 2022 06:08am
The plot is very very murky on this one. Both get their 15 mins of fame though..
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Adeel Feb 20, 2022 07:06am
Why did you expect people to cut off any person simply because you accused them of something. Allegations are not proof of wrongdoing. I bet you would have done the same had somebody come to you with an allegation but zero proof.
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Ga Feb 20, 2022 07:50am
What the hell was she doing in the backseat of a car with a 'na mahram' in the first place? Cant stand the heat, stay away from the kitchen!
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AJ Feb 20, 2022 10:21am
This Ali Noor character has always had a superiority complex, I noticed how he talked to people he perceived beneath his level, outright condescending. While I obviously cannot corroborate the sexual harassment claims. However, just my first-hand observation of the man tells me he's deeply flawed and full of himself, therefore I do not put sexual harassment as a frequent activity in his case, he thinks he's untouchable. In reality, he's a member of a sub-performing pop band in Pakistan that people do not care to listen to even across the border in India. This was bound to happen sooner rather than later, good riddance to you, you giant balloon!
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Saleem Feb 21, 2022 04:22pm
First and foremost, Ali Noor needs to get his eye-sight checked.
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