Veena Malik takes on the mullah-brigade in Pakistan

Malik took Mufti Abdul Kawi to task for calling her "baigharat" (immoral) on a talk show on television and said if she were in the wrong, so was he because Islam doesn't
permit a man to cast a second look at a woman who isn't his relative.

"One can be punished for looking at a woman a second time, you should be punished," Malik, clad in a black sleeveless dress, told the Mufti on Express News' Frontline show.

Malik's outspoken defence of herself received widespread support from Pakistani liberals and civil society activists on social networking websites like Twitter, which were flooded with messages praising her and quotes of her witty repartee with the Mufti.

Malik, who was ousted from Bigg Boss after spending 84 days on the show, described her appearance in the programme as a "beautiful, terrible, exciting, emotional, sad" experience. She said the most beautiful thing for her was the love Indians showered on her by voting for her.

Malik refused to apologise for her behaviour on the show, saying the show was not aimed at promoting the culture of any country. "It isn't a religious show either. The format of the show is to get people from various walks of life under one roof... I was contacted for my bravery," she said.

"I wasn't even representing office-going women of Pakistan. I was a Pakistani from the entertainment industry," she added. Malik snubbed critics who claimed she was dressed scantily, saying, "I wore only clothes that I have worn in Pakistan before. I was representing myself... and I am like this only."

The talk show also featured Ashmit Patel, who said that Malik regularly prayed on the sets of the show even though that was never shown on television and also made him offer the 'namaz' once.

Malik said the Pakistani media had been unfair to her by not highlighting the positives – such as when she was complimented by Salman Khan – and not coming to her rescue when she was abused on Bigg Boss.

"I belong to the entertainment industry and I went with my agenda. I wanted to show the world that there are other types of Pakistanis too, not just those who are in the news for terror acts."