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Producer Umer Mukhtar threatened legal action against Mahnoor Rahim on Friday, a content creator who publicly accused him of messaging her inappropriately. His public statement in the form of a legal notice shared to Instagram comes after Rahim posted two videos, including one highlighting his close friendship with actor Hania Aamir.

On Tuesday, Rahim posted a reel to her Instagram page, saying an unnamed senior producer at a TV channel had sent her messages at 3am in 2023. She said she initially thought it was work-related, and responded, asking why he had messaged her, to which he said he wanted to “chit chat”. She said she then went to his page where she saw he was married, and messaged him, telling him he should be ashamed to be messaging her on Instagram as a married man. She claimed he responded that he was not married.

Rahim said she then found his wife’s Instagram page and sent her a screenshot of the conversation.

In a followup reel on Thursday, the content creator named Mukhtar and said he was friends with Aamir, who serves as UN Women’s National Goodwill Ambassador in Pakistan.

She claimed to have received messages from many girls making similar allegations against Mukhtar, with screenshots, and questioned how Aamir could fight for women’s rights when she was “besties with a man who is exploiting underage girls” and “preys on underage girls”.

“The whole point of this reel is to protect yourself, because no one is going to do it for you,” she said.

Mukhtar responded to the allegations on Friday night, posting a legal notice purportedly sent to Rahim by his lawyers. In the caption, he said he had “decided to address this matter through the appropriate legal channels” and that “any action being taken is directed solely toward the relevant parties through due legal process”.

The producer said he would not be making any further public statements on the matter out of respect for the legal process, adding that he places his “trust in the justice system”.

The notice said Rahim had published a series of statements on social media platforms in which she described the producer as a “man who’s exploitying under age girls [sic]” and “alleged conduct amounting to sexual and professional misconduct”.

The notice said the fact that these statements are publicly accessible and presented as “assertions of fact” makes them defamatory under the law in both the United Kingdom — where Rahim is based — and Pakistan.

The notice asked Rahim “to remove and permanently delete all defamatory posts, stories, captions, comments and related content concerning [Mukhtar] from all platforms; to publish a clear and unequivocal written apology in terms to be approved by us; to provide a written undertaking that you will not repeat any such allegation in any form whatsoever, and to confirm in writing that no further defamatory material exists or is intended to be published,” within seven days of receiving the document.

Failure to do that, the notice stated, will result in “formal legal action in England and Wales and in Pakistan”. This, it said, would include “all available civil remedies for substantial financial compensation, injunctive protection, recovery of costs and, where advised, criminal redress”.

Hania Aamir speaks out

Aamir shared a story to her Instagram page on Friday, distancing herself from the situation after her name had been mentioned in “online conversations regarding a situation [she] had no knowledge of or involvement in”. She did not name Mukhtar in her post.

Aamir said she had a “zero-tolerance stance towards harassment, exploitation and any conduct that compromises the safety and dignity of women and girls”.

The actor said she supported “the courage it takes to come forward and stand firmly for environments where every woman and girl feels safe, heard and protected”.

She also said she had chosen to distance herself from the person in light of these concerns and that her past association to him “should not be interpreted as endorsement” of his actions.

Aamir said her commitment remains to accountability, respect and fostering safer spaces,” adding that everyone shares the responsibility to “challenge harmful behaviour, support those who speak up, and uphold standards that protect the dignity and safety of women and girls at all times”.