Meera’s mother wants people to think the star has mental health issues, says manager

On Wednesday night, various reports surfaced claiming actor Meera had been admitted to a psychiatric facility in New York. When reached out for a comment, her mother confirmed that the claims were true. According to Shafqat Zahra, the Baaji star had not only been admitted to a psychiatric facility but was taken there by force. She shared more details in a video message.

“I received a call from Meera on April 5 and she kept crying,” Zahra told The Express Tribune. “She was telling me that the US police id sending her to a psychiatric facility. She did not tell me why they were doing that, but said she repeatedly told them that she was an actor and not mentally ill.”

Zahra said that she hasn’t heard from her daughter ever since and her in-laws are also clueless about where she has been taken. “We tried our best to find out the reason but couldn’t. So now I’d like to appeal to the government of Pakistan to do something about it. I have already appealed to the Prime Minister Imran Khan and Sheikh Rasheed,” she added.

However, Meera’s manager Muhammad Qasim, who is based in Pakistan rubbished the claims of her being admitted to any facility and explained why such ‘fake news’ could have surfaced. “Meera is perfectly fine, both in terms of her mental and physical health and she is at her home in the US,” Qasim told The Express Tribune. “It seems like Meera’s mother is spreading rumours to resolve a personal dispute and I have nothing more to add because she is, after all, her mother.”

Another family member told The Express Tribune that Meera is in fact in touch with her father and there is more to the story than what is being discussed on social media.

“Meera is in contact with her father Sarwer Shah, who is more dependable than anyone else in her family,” said the family member requesting anonymity.” These rumours are related to an ongoing property dispute between Meera and her family and you should keep in mind that she has on a number of occasions spoken publicly how her family loots her all the time.”

Another close family member told The Express Tribune that the actor had in fact visited a psychiatric facility in the US for her routine checkup and told her mother about it. But that’s it. “Now her mother is painting a different picture when Meera is in fact in touch with her manager, father, and sister. She is simply not taking any calls from her mother which might have made her make those such claims,” said the family member, also requesting anonymity.

Renowned director and friend, Jarrar Rizvi, who introduced Meera with the film Pyar ki Khatir, was confident that the rumour mill is once again ablaze because Meera’s family wants a lion’s share of her property. “It is clear that it is a land dispute and some elements are trying to declare her mentally challenged so they can claim what belongs to her,” Rizvi told The Express Tribune.

“I have known Meera all my life, in fact, I was the one who gave Irtiza Rubab her screen name Meera and I can say this with confidence that, once again, her family is maligning her reputation for personal gains,” said Rizvi.

Following this, actor Imran Abbas took to his social media and narrated the conversation he had with Meera herself.

“Meera called me this morning to clarify it to all of our media/social media that she is perfectly fine and there is nothing wrong with her mental health. Kindly don’t sensationalise the story and make fun of her. Calling someone mentally unstable is not a bloody joke,” he wrote. “A person loses his/her credibility in society and moreover it can actually push her to be a mental wreck and make her take any extreme action. It can really harm her career and affect her adversely in so many different ways.”

Livid that people were treating the sensitive news which – even if it were true – should not have been joked about, Abbas added, “None of us are perfect and we all have imperfections in one way or another. ‘Perfection’ is the word which only suits our Creator. She doesn’t need your sympathies or prayers to be fine. Kindly don’t show this fake concern by putting statuses. Let’s pray for our sick society, news channels and social media which can actually push anyone to commit suicide by their petty jokes and flimsy humour.”