Actor Naila Jaffery 'attacked', 'harassed' in Gilgit
Veteran actor Naila Jaffery claims she was attacked in her Giglit residence after videos of the same surfaced on social media on Thursday, July 6.
One of the videos showed her yelling at the door from a distance, alleging that two men were pelting stones at her house from the outside. The other showed her trying to capture their faces through the gap between the doors. Upon seeing this, one of the attackers forced his way inside and in an attempt to snatch the phone from her hand, dropped it.
After viewing the terrifying yet ambiguous incident, The Express Tribune reached out to the senior artist. Jaffery revealed that the motive of the attackers was to evict her by force.
“I’ve been staying in Gilgit for two and a half years now but I was in Karachi before the lockdown. I only decided to come back so I could continue my recovery surrounded by nature,” affirmed Jaffery. The actor is currently fighting ovarian cancer and was reportedly diagnosed with the disease in 2016.
However, what followed was a series of psychological trauma and harassment, especially since she could not return to Karachi or find anywhere else to stay during the lockdown, she revealed. “Upon my arrival late in March, I rented this house and told the owner that I planned on staying a year, giving him four months of advance. But during the lockdown, exactly two months after my stay, he told me that I needed to evacuate or pay him extra otherwise he’ll kick me out because he has sold the property.”
Following this predicament, the actor recalled explaining to the owner how she could not move elsewhere given the circumstances and told him that it was unfair of him to demand more money. “But that did not work so I had to file a petition and the whole situation turned into a court case which is still ongoing,” revealed Jaffery, sharing the pictures of the petition filed.
As per the documents provided, Jaffery entered an oral agreement with the landlord on March 24, 2020, according to which she could stay at the residence after payment of Rs12000 per month. But she still paid him R 50,000, which would account for a four-month advance.
However, after the landlord discovered that the tenant was a known showbiz personality, he increased the rent to Rs25,000 per month, providing the excuse that he had sold the property.
Elaborating further on the latest incident, however, Jaffery alleged that the man who barged inside her house to keep her from making the video ‘attacked’ her due to which her phone dropped. Although this was the first physical attack, she was continually threatened and harassed throughout her stay.
“These men were sent by him as a means to threaten me because he has been making sure that I don’t feel safe since I refused him money. He would often cut my water and electricity supply and I was also robbed twice. But I stayed silent because I planned on leaving for Karachi anyway. I have to get my tests done,” confessed the actor.
She then explained how her lawyer missing out on a court summoning and then meeting the judge privately to explain the reason why could have also triggered this latest attack.
“I’ve been so occupied with packing and arranging my departure lately that my lawyer could not attend the latest summoning. But he went and explained this to the judge later and I’m guessing that’s what made them take the matter into their own hands.”
She further explained how the incident alone is nothing compared to the kind of criminal activity she has witnessed during her time in Gilgit. Adding that she is bound to leave anyway but wants to highlight it is a means to bring attention to the lack of security in the region.
“I want to highlight the flaws in the system here,” she remarked. “You cannot invite foreigners, tourism cannot thrive like this. I have seen an ugly side of Gilgit during my stay – from rape to murders, bodies of young girls being discovered from the rivers every other day. Nobody can prove anything,” said the senior. She also shared how crimes of men from various ‘qabilas’ and influential local families are also covered up while people like herself, women and those without security are harassed.
Nevertheless, the actor has filed an appeal for protection at the IU police station after the latest incident and demanded a stern action to be taken against the accused.
Landlord's version
The landlord of Jafferee's rented residence has also presented his version of the story in response to the actor's claims on Gilgit's web based channel.
In the video, Shabbir Hussain starts off by introducing himself, alleging that he is also a Tamgha-e-Imtiaz recipient. He then recalls how Jaffery, who met him in March when the pandemic erupted, really liked his house. Hussain then expressed how he had done a 'favour' upon the actor by letting her stay in the discounted price, because of her illness. Since a director (anonymous) had previously been paying a rent of Rs25,000 per month to stay in the same house that Jaffery paid Rs12,000 per month for.
"I also warned her while bargaining that I'm in the process of selling this house," he affirmed. Adding that during their oral agreement, Jaffery promised she would try increasing the amount later, since she was in a tight spot at that moment. “And I considered it because she was like my sister,” he said.
But he narrated how during the time of her stay, which was paid for, he brought individuals interested in buying the house to overlook the property, during which Jaffree “used extremely inappropriate language to abuse him.”
“She then started rambling about how terrible the house is. I told her if she wasn’t satisfied, she could just vacate my property and rent another” claimed Hussain.
The owner recalled how after this 'verbal warning', he arrived another day with a written one, because of which Jaffery told him that she would now be seeing him in court. Hussain added how even after appearing in court – because Gilgitis deem it ‘disrespectful’ to drag women through such spaces – he told Jaffery that she still had time to just empty the house and let this all go. "I even provided her 20 to 25 potential properties she could rent and my lawyer has proof of that,” he confirmed, "but she did not show interest."
Hussain showed the affidavit of the deal he had finalised with a buyer, which is still pending because Jaffery has not evacuated yet. “She gave her word in court that she would empty the residence on August 1, which she did not. And so the judge dismissed her case, this is the proof of that,” he said showing the alleged court document on camera.