Islamabad: A Pakistani actress who posed in the nude for an Indian magazine with the initials of Pakistan's feared and powerful intelligence agency on her arm has triggered fury across this conservative nation.
Veena Malek's photo on the website of FHM India, in advance of its publication in the magazine's December issue, has been lighting up social network website Facebook and Twitter since earlier this week.
Many here anticipate a backlash, as nationalists and Islamists regularly stage rallies against anything they deem an insult to Islam or to the national honour. India and Pakistan have fought three wars, and the Inter-Services Intelligence agency or ISI has been accused of sponsoring terrorist attacks inside India.
Malek has broken Pakistani religious and national taboos in the past. She is a target for conservative ire and a heroine to some Pakistani liberals.
Conservative cleric Maulana Abdul Qawi declared on Aaj TV yesterday that her latest venture into controversy was a "shame for all Muslims". Farzana Naz, interviewed by the same channel on the streets of Lahore, said that the actress had "bowed all us women in shame".
Twitter commentator Umair Javed however called on Pakistanis to "make copies of the picture and bury it in your backyard. This way, our grandkids will know there were some amongst us who lived free!"
Asked by reporters whether Pakistan would "pursue the matter" legally, the country's Interior Minister Rehman Malek said yesterday, "First, let us see whether it is real or fake".
Malek for her part says that the photo at the root of the current uproar was published in violation of her agreement with FHM India. In an interview with Pakistani Geo television broadcast yesterday, Malek acknowledged having been photographed for a "bold but not nude shot". She said the editor of the magazine had promised that he would cover most of the photo with the ISI initials.
Malek said that the photo was intended to poke fun at the Indian fear of Pakistani spies: "Whatever happens [in India], people say ISI is behind that." Malek said she would "probably" take a legal action against the magazine for violating terms and condition.
Magazine editor Kabeer Sharma said Malek did all with her full consent.
"We have all the record[s]," he told the Pakistani television station. "Veena was very excited about that ISI idea."
Malek does most of her work in India. The entertainment sector there is booming, while Pakistan's is moribund. Her ties to Pakistan's arch rival have landed her in controversy in the past.
During a much-publicised talk show appearance early this year, she lashed out her nemesis Abdul Qawi, who criticised her for having a scripted love affair with an Indian actor on an Indian reality show.
