Pakistani actress Veena Malik is in big trouble back home for posing nude for an Indian magazine. Pakistan and India exist in a perpetual state of hostility, often violent. Furthermore, Pakistan is strictly Islamic and woman do NOT appear in the nude. To make matters even more explosive, Malik appears in the controversial photos with ‘ISI’ tattooed on her arm – these are the initials which stand for Pakistan’s dreaded and hated spy agency, Inter Services Intelligence. Many Indians and observers in the West consider the ISI to be responsible for terrorist attacks including the 2008 Mumbai massacre.
Malik appears in the nude, with her hands and legs strategically positioned, on the December issue of the glossy men’s magazine according to the Hindustan Times.
The cover has sparked outrage in Pakistan and by Saturday had become a top trending topic on Twitter. ”A disgusting & shameful act by Veena Malik, she should be banned in Pakistan for life time,” tweeted Fatima Shuja.
However, Malik, 27, emphatically denies posing naked for the magazine. ”It came to me as a big shock and I am really upset. The photo is morphed! I never shot the picture like this, I got it clicked with some clothes on,” she said, adding ”My lawyer is looking into the matter and we plan to take legal action against the magazine for ruining my image.”
The cover has stirred up so much anger that the Pakistani government has weighed in, with Interior Minister Rehman Malik (no relation!) saying that his department would look into the matter. ”If she has done so, she did wrong. But, these pictures are tempered many times and we will look into this issue,” he said.
FHM India’s editor, Kabeer Sharma, said nothing had been doctored by the magazine and Malik had posed naked. ”We have video footage of the shoot as well as emails from Veena about how she’s looking forward to the cover,” Kabeer Sharma told the BBC. ”The idea to have ISI written on her arm was mine, and it was Veena’s idea to have it in block letters,” he added.
Hopefully the photos won’t cause a war.