Journalist Naeem Hanif publicly apologises to Saba Qamar over slanderous claims

The remarks had drawn strong backlash across social media and the industry

Journalist Naeem Hanif has issued a formal apology after actor Saba Qamar served him a Rs100 million legal notice over defamatory remarks made about her character.

According to the legal notice, Hanif had “made and disseminated defamatory, sexist and derogatory statements concerning [Qamar’s] personal and moral character,” while promoting the “regressive notion that a woman’s achievements are not earned through merit or professionalism but through association with men.”

Hanif addressed the controversy while appearing on a podcast hosted by Bushra Khan on RNN Network’s YouTube channel, where he acknowledged that his claims were false. “The claims I made were false and I apologise to Saba Qamar,” he said.

 

 

 

 

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Qamar responded to the apology by sharing it to her Instagram story, with the caption “Speechless”.

The apology follows remarks Hanif made earlier in November 2025 on his YouTube channel, where he alleged that Qamar had once lived in a house in Lahore’s Walton area that was allegedly provided to her by an unnamed individual. The claims quickly drew backlash online.

Qamar firmly denied the accusations, sharing a screenshot of the podcast on her Instagram account and calling the statements “baseless and untrue.” She said she had never lived in Walton and described the remarks as a serious act of character assassination.

Following the controversy, several celebrities publicly came out in support of Qamar and condemned the nature of the allegations.

Actor Sehar Khan addressed the issue on her Instagram story, saying that being able to “say anything about anyone” on the internet was unacceptable. “Such extreme and toxic mindsets must be questioned,” she added.

Qamar herself also shared a series of Instagram stories highlighting what she described as Hanif’s pattern of behaviour. These included posts drawing attention to his derogatory remarks against actor Fiza Ali and celebrity couple Shoaib Malik and Sana Javed, as well as a clip of him speaking about the death of actor Yousaf.

In one post, Qamar accused Hanif of having a history of “spreading false news, making cheap remarks and disrespecting people who’ve worked hard all their lives…just to get attention, views and fame.”

Media commentators Aamna Isani and Hassan Choudary of Something Haute also reacted strongly to the controversy, stressing that journalism comes with responsibility. They said no one should use their platform to spread factually incorrect claims, adding that personal attacks under the guise of commentary are unacceptable.