Star actress Mahira Khan and controversial writer Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar have expressed mutual respect in recent podcast interviews, after years of strained relations.
In his recent appearance on The Blue Truth Digital podcast, Khalil ur Rehman Qamar called Mahira his “favourite actress,” while revealing that their differences have officially ended.
“Mahira was, and still is, my favourite actress. That’s why I was upset by her words,” he shared.
“Recently, Mahira said that if she had a problem with me, she should have called and talked to me. When I heard this, I was very sad, because I respected her a lot and she did the same for me,” he said.
He added that if she had directly confronted him, he would have responded with warmth and explanation instead of resentment.
“Even if she had called and scolded me, I would have lovingly told her what the real purpose behind my words was,” he explained.
“When I came to know that Mahira regretted her tweet, I sent her a message that all my quarrels with you are over,” he added.
The feud began in 2020 when Qamar used derogatory language against activist Marvi Sirmed on national television. Mahira publicly condemned his behaviour in a post on X (formerly Twitter), which led to a cold war between the two.
However, on Ahmed Ali Butt’s podcast in May, Mahira acknowledged that she should have handled the matter privately.
“We were never close friends, but our joint project Sadqay Tumhare was a journey we completed with love and sincerity,” she said.
“Yes, I was wrong. I should have messaged him directly instead of tweeting about it. He is absolutely right.”
Mahira shared that she had been filming Neelofar when she saw news of Qamar’s TV appearance. Reacting emotionally and without checking the full context, she posted a tweet that later spiralled into controversy.
“I just wanted to raise my voice against injustice,” she explained.
Now, with both sides expressing regret and respect, the air between them seems to have cleared.
During the same podcast, Khalil ur Rehman Qamar also reflected on his values and career journey, “I find people who lie to be bad, and also those who differentiate between the rich and the poor. The real poor to me are those with limited means or who earn unlawfully,” he said.
He shared that he began writing at the age of thirteen and faced resistance from his father, who wanted him to pursue a traditional career.
“I didn’t want to write, but I was born a writer. My father beat me many times because he wanted me to become an officer through studying,” he recalled.
He also defended his controversial line “Do Takke Ki Aurat” from the hit drama ‘Mere Paas Tum Ho’: “People criticised it without reason. That dialogue was written for one specific character, not for all women.”
“The actual line was: ‘You were giving me Rs 50 million for this Do Takke Ki Aurat,’ and it was meant only for that particular girl,” Qamar said.
