Renowned Pakistani filmmaker Jamshed Mahmood Raza, popularly known as Jami, has been sentenced to two years in prison by an additional district and sessions judge (East) in Karachi in a defamation case filed by fellow director Sohail Javed.
The court found Jami guilty under Section 500 of the Pakistan Penal Code for making defamatory remarks that damaged Javed’s reputation. Along with the prison sentence, the court also imposed a fine of Rs10,000. In case of failure to pay the fine, Jami will serve an additional one-month imprisonment.
The case dates back to 2019, when Jami shared a letter during a public appearance at the Lahooti Melo and later posted it to his Facebook account. The letter, written by an anonymous sexual assault survivor, alleged misconduct by an unnamed prominent figure in the entertainment industry. While Jami did not directly name anyone, Sohail Javed argued that comments under the social media post strongly implied he was the accused, and Jami failed to clarify or deny the public speculation.
Javed subsequently filed a defamation lawsuit, stating that the allegations caused serious damage to his personal and professional reputation.
During court proceedings, Jami maintained that the letter was handed to him by Lahooti Melo organizers and that he was unaware of its contents prior to reading it aloud. He denied any intention of defaming anyone.
However, the court ruled that Jami failed to provide sufficient evidence to support his defense. “The accused did not produce the letter’s author, any communication with the event organizers, or credible proof showing he had no prior knowledge of the content,” the court observed in its judgement.
Following the verdict, Jami was taken into custody from the courtroom and transferred to Karachi Central Prison to serve his sentence.
