The Pakistan government may cancel the citizenship of actress Veena Malik or send her into exile for her nude pictures appearing in an Indian magazine.
“There will be action. Cancellation of her citizenship, banning her entry in the country or trying her in a court are the options,” a senior government official told this newspaper.
Controversial Veena Malik has yet again triggered anger across Pakistan after an Indian men’s magazine published her nude photo on its cover page sporting the initials ISI on her arm.
Separately, interior minister Rehman Malik said the government will take action after investigating the issues. “First we need to know if they are original pictures. You know, there are so many pictures of me in the newspapers where I am shown riding a donkey and we know it is not me. They just fix my head on any picture,” he said.
Mr Malik added, “When the investigations are complete, we will be able to tell what action we will take against her. Until then we can wait”.
Ms Malik’s spokesman Sohail Rashid denied the allegation, calling the photos fake and fabricated.
Mr Rashid said Veena Malik knows her limits and she could not do go for nude photo shoot. He said it was just “propaganda” by the Indian media who do not want a Pakistani star in Bollywood.
He said: “Veena Malik advised me to contact her lawyer and move to court for legal action against the magazine. We will decide to take up the issue in Indian court after consultation with our lawyer.”
FHM magazine editor Kabeer Sharma denied Veena Malik’s claim. He said the magazine has proof of the photo shoot. “The photo shoot was done in Mumbai on November 22. We have a video of the photo shoot. I also have an email from Veena in which she says she has seen the photos and is happy with them, and that she’s looking forward to seeing the cover,” Mr Sharma said.
The FHM editor said she had never heard of the representative and added that Ms Malik had not got in touch to ask him to modify or remove the image.
Earlier, talking to a Pakistani television channel, Veena Malik confirmed the shoot and said the idea of ISI tattoo was of the producer.