LAHORE: Na Maloom Afraad-fame actor Mohsin Abbas Haider’s wife Fatema Sohail has rejected claims made by her husband in defence of allegations of adultery and physical violence, reiterating that she was “dragged and punched while she was pregnant”.
Sohail, while talking to a private media outlet, dismissed Haider’s claim that the bruises on her face, as shown in the pictures she shared, saying that they were not due to her falling from stairs. “People are not blind,” she said.
In a Facebook post shared on Saturday, she had accused her husband of adultery and physical abuse.
According to her Facebook post, after suspecting that Mohsin was cheating on her she finally caught him on November 26, 2018, and confronted him in a calm manner about the affair. However, on being caught red-handed, Mohsin reacted by beating her while she was heavily pregnant. “He pulled me from hair, dragged me on the floor, kicked me several times, punched me on face & threw me on the wall,” she said.
She said that she didn’t disclose anything to her parents to save them from any pain, instead, she called a friend and went to a hospital to receive first-aid and to check that baby in her womb remained safe. Initially, she was refused treatment as it was a police case and without involving them, doctors were unwilling to extend any help.
Fatima further stated that on May 20, 2019, she gave birth to a baby boy, while her husband, instead of being there to comfort her in the process, was fornicating in Karachi with his girlfriend and then later came to take pictures with the baby to put on social media.
She added that social media posts by the actor regarding depression were a ploy to create a certain public image and were nothing more than publicity stunts like the photos with their baby son. “He is doing this to get sympathy,” she said.
Further, Fatima said that Mohsin denied any responsibility of their child after which she went to his house on July 17, 2019, and requested him to take responsibility for his son but he flatly refused to pay a single penny and turned violent again.
In a few hours of the post being shared, the actor commented on the post before deleting it.
On July 22, Mohsin held a press conference in which he gave his point of view on the matter.
Responding to allegations of beating up his wife he said that she is in the habit of hitting herself. “She used to hit herself often, I used to go in the kitchen and get cut in trying to save herself from herself,” he said.
“In fact, I am from a female-oriented family myself. I have grown up in a female-oriented family. I have two sisters and nephews and nieces a well. I have never hit them. Then how could I hit her (Fatemah)? The pictures she has shared were taken in 2018 when she had fallen from the stairs so that she could send them to me because I was out of the city,” he added.
Moreover, he added that his sister had recently told his maternal uncle that he had mended his ways and does not react when angry.
He said that he was unhappy in his marriage as he was having to do domestic work and wished to find a second wife which became the reason for his wife’s outburst as she was jealous and insecure although religion and law give him the right to do so.
“We got married but I was still washing my own clothes, cooking my own food, and even taking care of myself when I was sick. Marriage is done for comfort. Because there was no such thing at home, I used to remain out on the roads for hours. Then we had a baby and I told my family that I cannot live like a bachelor who does professional as well as domestic work. So, I decided to enter into a second marriage. This is my right. When I told Fatemah, she was angry. I don’t know what jealousy and insecurity she has,” he said.
Responding to statements by the media fraternity and his colleagues who came out in support of Fatemah saying that they were aware of the abuse and were witness to it, Mohsin said that it was nothing but professional jealousy.
“She (Fatemah) is being exploited. Someone else is behind her. These are those people who were jealous of me,” he said,
While taking a religious oath by placing his hand on the Quran, the actor further said that his wife “was playing the woman card. “Every crying woman is not a victim. However, I must say that I have in no way meant that my wife is a bad person,” he said.
Later in the evening, another comment was left on social media by a man with username khawajao7 who claims to be the couple’s neighbour in Lahore.