The first court hearing of Ali Zafar and Meesha Shafi’s harassment case started on Monday under the chairmanship of judge Shehzad Ahmed.

Zafar had filed a defamation suit against Shafi after she accused her fellow singer of sexually harassing her. During the hearing of the case today, Additional District Judge Ahmed Shahzad granted a stay order in favour of Zafar.

The order restrains Shafi from making any further defamatory statements across all available mediums until the court’s final verdict on the case, local media reported. The court has also ordered Shafi to submit a reply by July 5.

Zafar had earlier sent a lawsuit to Shafi, demanding Rs1 billion for a damage to his reputation. His counsel Rana Intizar Hussain rejected all of Shafi’s harassment allegations, terming them baseless and false. Hussain also claimed that the singer was using it as a means of achieving cheap publicity.

While Zafar awaits for his one of the most anticipated movies, ‘Teefa in Trouble’, the next court hearing will be held in July.