Pakistani journalist Aroosa Alam, whose visit has caused a storm in Punjab polity because of her alleged affair with former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh called a press conference here on Wednesday to stem the rising uproar and declared that Singh was a “very good friend” and not a “lover”.

Aroosa, entreated journalists to respect her friendly relationship with 65-year old Capt Singh whom she dubbed as a wise person and a visionary.

“The rumours of my marriage to Capt Singh have hurt me. I am a senior journalist in Pakistan, have a family and a social status. I came to Punjab to see Capt Singh’s ailing mother and spent two wonderful days at Patiala,” she said.

“There seems to be a political motivation to spread canards about my being an ISI agent. Otherwise, why should there be an objection to friendship between two persons,” she said.

Capt Singh, scion of the Patiala royal family had invited Aroosa to stay at his Moti Bagh Palace after she landed in Punjab last Sunday.

“I met Capt Singh two years ago and find him a very wise and sophisticated person. Can’t two individuals be friends,” asked Aroosa, who is also president of the National Press Club at Islamabad and also president of the Islamabad chapter of the media NGO, South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA).

Aroosa, who writes on defence and security issues in Pakistani newspapers has been dubbed as an ISI agent by the ruling Akali Dal members who even raised the matter of her relationship with Capt Singh in the Punjab assembly demanding a debate while claiming she posed a security threat. 

Dwelling on her experience as a high-profile journalist in Pakistan, Aroosa said she had been at the forefront of promoting cultural and people-to-people contact between the two countries and felt saddened by the unseemly controversy surrounding her personal life.

Aroosa, who holds a multi-entry visa to India, has visited the country many times as a journalist accompanying political dignitaries from Pakistan and as an activist on the SAFMA platform.