Journalist Naeem Hanif Issues Public Apology to Saba Qamar Over False Claims

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.

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.