Other States - Punjab   

Allegations baseless, says Pakistan journalist

Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

Only friendship: Pakistani journalist Aroosa Alam arrives to address media persons at Chandigarh Press Club on Wednesday.

CHANDIGARH: Aroosa Alam, a journalist from Pakistan, while denying “any marriage, engagement or affair,” with the former Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, has stressed that she and her family enjoyed a “very good friendship” with his family.

Addressing the Chandigarh Press Club on Wednesday, Ms. Alam, who heads the Islamabad chapter of the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA), expressed agony at the “hue and cry” generated over her friendship with Captain Singh.

Ms. Alam said she first met Captain Singh him at a SAFMA function in Jalandhar. She respected him for his vision and wisdom. He had become a household name in Pakistan for promoting “people-to-people” ties, an area where she was also working as she liked India.

When her attention was drawn to the fact that the controversy arose after a Rawalpindi-based newspaper carried a report about her reported marriage with Captain Singh, she alleged that the paper’s owner nursed a grudge against her, as she participated in dislodging his hegemony on the Rawalpindi Press Club.

Ms. Alam said her sons, including the elder one who is 33, had been hosted by Captain Singh and his family. After some problems, she got a visa to India this month, as it was her earnest desire to meet Captain Singh’s ailing mother. Ms. Alam appealed to the media to desist from tarnishing her character. While the situation in her country could create security problems for her, she said she had a family, social and professional life, which could be hampered due to the “unnecessary controversy.”

While she was responding to queries at the press conference, the Imam of the Jama Masjid, in Ludhiana, issued a fatwa calling upon all Muslims to enforce a “social boycott” of Ms. Alam.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Allegations baseless, says Pakistan journalist
Polls for civic bodies on a single day

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu