Singer Ali Noor denies 'all allegations' of sexual harassment against him

Musician Ali Noor said on Monday that he denies "all allegations of sexual harassment" against him. The development comes two days after he apologised to journalist Ayesha Binte Rashid, who accused him of harassment.

Ayesha accused the musician of sexual harassment on Friday. Noor posted a series of Instagram stories on Monday addressed to Ayesha and said he was "done being concerned about [her]". When Images reached out to Ayesha, she had no comment on the development.

"I sent you an apology by putting my entire life on stake and you have the audacity to not accept my heartfelt words. I deny all allegations of sexual harassment against me and I never admitted to them to start with," he wrote with the hashtag #StopMockeryOfMeToo.

The Instagram story also featured a picture of a tombstone with the phrase "we will change the world, we have sworn in our hearts" engraved above and his name below. Below Noor's name, it read his father's name and date of birth.

He also posted a picture of the tombstone on his feed with the date February 22, 2022.

This could be a reference to his new single he announced he was going to release on February 22. The post about the song has since been deleted.

In a second story, Noor wrote, "To the few left that still love me… Remember I am no sexual abuser. Also remember… Every Human Being Matters. Wishing a better life for everybody."

The second post included the hashtags #MeinNeChorhDiya and #StopMockeryOfMeToo.

Accusations and apology

On Friday, Ayesha, 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 in which she accused him of sexually harassing her and being a predator.

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." Her post also included a screenshot from a conversation with Noor via a number saved under his wife's name in which he thanked her for the "wake up call".

When contacted by Images, Noor initially said he would address the allegations in a few days but later 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."

In a 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].”