In just one magazine cover, a popular Pakistani actress has managed to offend her country's conservative majority, spark cross-border controversies and trigger promises of an investigation from her country's Interior Minister. Veena Malik achieved all this by posing for FHM India, a men's magazine. On the cover of its December issue, Malik appears nude, although her folded arms across her chest partially preserve her modesty, with the acronym ISI tattooed on her arm. The tattoo is an obvious allusion to Pakistan's notorious spy agency, which has been accused of being involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, among other nefarious acts.
The cover, which was released online before the magazine's publication, has triggered a torrent of opinions and comments in Pakistan's official and social media, overshadowing a continuing conspiracy scandal and the fallout from a NATO strike that killed two dozen Pakistani soldiers. The web editor of a local newspaper said Malik's coup has already surpassed Osama bin Laden's death in terms of internet traffic.
The cover has left few Pakistanis indifferent. In the large camp of the offended is Malik's own father, who reportedly disowned her for shaming both her family and her country. A Pakistani lawyer agreed, to the point that he filed a complaint with the Islamabad High Court demanding that Malik's passport be confiscated. The court rejected the suit, arguing that the deed had been committed outside its jurisdiction.
But Malik has also received support. Some praised her courage - others simply enjoyed the picture. ''Having an opinion about Veena Malik, much like Veena's clothing itself, is strictly optional,'' wrote the Express Tribune, a local daily, in a recent editorial. ''What is not acceptable is occupying a position of neutrality in the fight between Veena and her holier-than-thou critics.''One who did not enjoy the cover is Malik herself. She claims she did not pose nude and that the picture was ''morphed''. She is suing the magazine and has asked for nearly $US2 million in damages. The magazine has denied all the accusations and said it had video footage proving Malik's claims are false. In a legal notice threatening Malik with a countersuit, FHM India reaffirmed that she did pose naked.