Journalist Naeem Hanif has publicly apologised to actress Saba Qamar, after the Pamaal star issued a legal notice to him for making “defamatory” comments about her during his podcast on November 1. Last Tuesday, Hanif appeared on a podcast where he admitted that he falsely claimed that she was in a live-in relationship with someone in Lahore.

“I verified that news later, and it wasn’t correct, and neither was there any truth in it. It was contrary to the truth, which hurt her sentiments and tarnished her character. We are sorry for this and the hurt it caused.” Qamar responded to the apology by sharing it to her Instagram story, with the caption “Speechless”.

After Hanif’s previous false claims, Qamar had issued a legal notice to the journalist and posted screenshots of the notice in a series of Instagram stories alongside a message for her followers. She told fans and industry fellows to be strong and stand up to defamation and disrespect, she asked them to call such people out and hold them accountable. “No one,” the star said, “has the right to make false accusations just for attention.”