ISLAMABAD (AP) -- 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 Malik'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 websites 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 honor. India and Pakistan have fought three wars, and the Inter-Services Intelligence agency or ISI has been accused of sponsoring terrorist attacks inside India.
Malik 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 on Saturday that her latest venture into controversy was a ``shame for all Muslims.''
In an interview with Pakistani Geo television broadcast Saturday, however, Malik said the nude photo was published in violation of her agreement with FHM India and she was considering legal action against the magazine.
Malik 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.
The photo was intended to poke fun at the Indian fear of Pakistani spies, she said, adding ``whatever happens (in India), people say ISI is behind that.''
Magazine editor Kabeer Sharma said Malik had given full consent for the shoot and the picture.
``We have all the record(s),'' he told the Pakistani television station. ``Veena was very excited about that ISI idea.''
Zubair Khan, a 40-year-old shopkeeper in the northwestern city of Peshawar, agreed, saying the photo had given rival India another opportunity to insult Pakistan.
``She has earned a bad name for the entire Pakistan nation,'' he said.
Others questioned the authenticity of the photo.
``It seems to be an Indian attempt to malign Pakistan by faking her nude pics, or she might have done it to get a cheap publicity,'' said Lubna Khalid, 38, a housewife in the southern port city of Karachi.
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 Malik said Saturday, ``First, let us see whether it is real or fake.''
Malik does most of her work in India. The entertainment sector there is booming, while Pakistan's is moribund. Her ties to Pakistan's archrival have landed her in controversy in the past.
During a much-publicized talk show appearance early this year, she lashed out her nemesis Abdul Qawi, who criticized her for having a scripted love affair with an Indian actor on an Indian reality show.
``What is your problem with me?'' an angry Malik demanded of the scholar, who had accused her of insulting Islam.
<한글기사>
파키스탄 배우 누드사진에 비난 빗발
정보기관명 'ISI' 팔에 적고 잡지 등장
파키스탄 배우 비나 말리크(33)가 파키스탄 정보기관 이름 약자를 팔에 적고 누드 사진을 촬영해 비난받고 있다고 BBC 방송 인터 넷판이 2일(현지시간) 보도했다.
파키스탄에서는 누드 사진을 찍은 것과 논란의 중심인 정보기관의 이니셜을 적 은 것 모두에 대해 비난하는 여론이 거세다고 BBC는 전했다.
보도에 따르면 말리크는 남성잡지 FHM 인도판 12월호 표지에 누드로 등장했는데 왼쪽 팔에는 파키스탄 정보기관의 이름인 'ISI'가 큼지막하게 적혀있다.
영국 일간 데일리메일은 말리크가 누드 파문 이후 인도 뉴스통신 PTI에 "누드 포즈를 한 적이 없다"면서 FHM에 법적 대응을 할 것이라고 말했다고 전했다.
그러나 BBC는 FHM 인도판 에디터가 조작은 전혀 없었다고 말했다고 보도했다.
카비르 샤르마는 "팔에 ISI를 쓴 것은 내 생각이었고 블록체로 하자고 한 것은 비나 "라고 BBC에 말했다.
그는 이어 표지 이미지가 재미를 위한 것이었다면서 "인도에서 하는 농담이 있는데 어떤 일이 잘못되면 ISI가 배후에 있을 거라고 말한다"고 설명했다.
ISI는 최근 파키스탄 부족 지역에 근거지를 두고 아프가니스탄의 서방국 병력을 공격하는 무장단체를 지원한다는 의혹을 받은 조직이다.
말리크는 이전에도 논란의 중심에 섰던 인물이다. 지난해 인도의 리얼리티쇼에 출연해 보수층의 분노를 샀으며 지난 3월에는 TV에서 파키스탄 성직자의 견해에 도전해 헤드라인에 오르기도 했다. (연합기사)
