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Actor Alizeh Shah shared on Wednesday afternoon screenshots purportedly of a defamation notice she has issued to fellow actor Minsa Malik. It is unclear whether this notice has been sent to Malik or whether she has received it.

The recipient on the document shared by Shah is “Momna Maqsood aka Minsa Malik”. The notice states that continued defamatory action will result in the filing of a Rs1 billion lawsuit against her as well as a case with the Federal Investigation Agency. Images has reached out to Malik for a comment.

The notice claimed that Malik had “through your actions and statements, engaged in conduct that is defamatory, malicious, and directly harmful to [Shah’s] professional standing”.

“Specifically, you have admitted under your own account — on a public platform — that you used derogatory and defamatory language toward her, referring to her in degrading terms and even slapped her, which [is] a direct admission of assault. Such language is not only insulting and inappropriate, but it also constitutes a direct attack on her dignity, violates her rights under the laws of defamation, and is actionable under applicable civil and criminal statutes,” it read.

“Further, it has been brought to our notice that you circulated a certain application which falsely implicates our client in fabricated misconduct. Despite the fact that this application was subsequently withdrawn, you have continued to circulate and publicise the same among others in a way that portrays our client in a false and deeply negative light. This deliberate act of propagating falsehood — while being fully aware that the allegations had already been retracted — is a calculated move to harm our client’s reputation, mislead the public, and disrupt her professional engagements.”

The notice also accuses Malik of communicating with “individuals and entities within the production community, spreading misinformation and accusing our client of disruptive behaviour on set”. “You have presented these claims as fact, despite having no credible basis for them. As a direct consequence of these baseless allegations, our client has faced professional setbacks, including lost opportunities and damage to her standing in the industry.”

It argues that her actions amount to “character assassination, intentional infliction of reputational harm, and dissemination of knowingly false and misleading information”. It also says that if Malik continues to “slander” Shah, “appropriate legal action, both civil and criminal, will be initiated without further warning”.

Shah’s notice calls on Malik to immediately cease and desist from all such defamatory acts, remove any and all defamatory content and commentary relating to her from any platform, and issue a written public apology acknowledging the falsehood of her claims.

“Failure to comply with these demands within the next 48 hours will leave our client with no option but to initiate legal proceedings against you, including but not limited to damages for loss of income, emotional distress, and injury to reputation.”

In the case of failure to comply with the directives, Shah’s legal representative says they have instructions to file a complaint against her with the FIA under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, a criminal complaint for Criminal Defamation under Section 500 of the Pakistan Penal Code as well as a civil suit for the recovery of Rs1 billion in damages under Section 3 and 4 of the Defamation Ordinance, 2002. If these conditions are not met, the notice says legal action will be initiated after seven days.

The conflict

Malik and Shah’s conflict dates back to their days filming a drama together. Shah recently addressed reports that she physically assaulted her co-actor and threw a cigarette at her during the shoot in a series of videos on her Instagram stories.

“She pushed me. I didn’t fall. And then she slapped me. I was in shock. She started telling everyone that I threw a cigarette at her,” Shah claimed. “I told the cameraman to play the scene back because the camera was rolling while this happened — nothing like that was caught on camera.”

She admitted to later confronting the co-actor in her room and throwing a sandal at her in frustration. “Yes, I threw my sandal at her. That’s it. I wouldn’t even touch you. How disgusting you are,” she said, adding that she was told not to file an FIR because it would hurt the drama’s progress. “And the next morning, I see news that I assaulted her and ripped her or my clothes in the process. None of that happened.”

Malik had claimed Shah was “high on drugs” and threw a cigarette at her. In response, she slapped her, after which she said Shah “physically assaulted” her.