Hamid Mir apologises over contentious speech against institutions

ISLAMABAD: Hamid Mir — who was taken off air by his employer, Geo News, last month after he made a fiery speech at a rally in support of a vlogger who was beaten up by three unidentified men outside his apartment — has offered an apology, saying he had no intention to defame state institutions.

In his speech, Mir had “threatened” to “identify those responsible” for what he claimed was a spate of recent attacks on journalists in Pakistan. He also implied the involvement of the security agencies but did not provide any evidence to back up his claims.

After it suspended Mir, Geo News, in a statement, said it removed the anchor for potential “violation of policy and law” during the speech.

Mir took to Twitter on Wednesday, saying he apologised over his remarks before Rawalpindi and Islamabad Union of Journalists that defended him since the media house removed him in May as the host of his programme “Capital Talk”.

He said he tendered no such apology to his employer as he did not use its platform when he made the speech.

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