Former Punjab chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh‘s “friendship” with the Pakistani journalist Aroosa Alam has quickly and smoothly moved from the gossip columns to the front pages, with the kind lady trying to explain how a Rawalpindi-based newspaper carried a report about her reported marriage with Captain Singh prompting a fatwa from the Imam of the Jama Masjid in Ludhiana calling for a social boycott.
Alam, who counts former German chancellor Gerard Schroeder among her pals, alleged that the Rawalpindi paper’s owner nursed a grudge against her, as she participated in dislodging his hegemony at the Rawalpindi Press Club, which is why he had hit back. “The owner of the newspaper in question wanted to grab a piece of land allotted to a housing society of journalists in Islamabad. I was among those who had opposed it.”
Accused of being an ISI spy by the Akali Dal, Alam, who is the president of the Pakistan chapter of the South Asian Free Media Association and vice-president of the Rawalpindi Press Club, said she had come to India to visit Captain Amarinder Singh’s ailing mother. Her two sons too were with her, and were staying at the Moti Bagh palace in Patiala.
“Preneet (Capt. Amarinder Singh’s wife) has been a good host,” Alam said at a press conference in Chandigarh yesterday.
These are the other gems the 55-year-old journalist dropped:
# “Pyaar nahin, dosti hain (It’s not love, it’s friendship). We’re good friends, not lovers, and will remain so for ever.”
# “I deny any marriage, engagement or affair“.
# “I only said I would marry him in a lighter vein.”
# “Neither he will leave his citizenship nor will I Islam (to marry).”
# “I may have a pretty face but unfortunately it has become a point of entertainment.”
# “Amarinder is a wise man, a man with a vision, a charming person. He has a good stature and is well known in Pakistan as opposed to the current Chief Minister of Punjab.”
# “While I am happy to be with my (media) colleagues (in India), I don’t understand why you have to enter my personal life. Don’t you have any serious matter to write about? Newspapers in Pakistan don’t write on personal lives of people… It is strange in india the media hits below the belt.”
# “I have travelled with Presidents and Prime Ministers on official state visits. Does that make me an ISI agent? If any of you travels abroad with your Prime Minister, does that make you an agent of the RAW? I am definitely not an ISI agent.”
IJR 
Hi, I think Amrinder Singh is very good politician,as CM he was very good,he is true sikh as he left congress during operation blue star,he had always raised voice for isses of Punjab and is true Indian as he fought indo-pak war of 1965, I dont know how people call him ISI agent,and we should not be concerned about his personal relationship he has a personal life, let him deal with it and if we start discussing love affairs of politicians then there will be a long list.
Actually,Amarinder singh is a daring,wise and true sikh leader though he belongs to congress but one should not forget that it is Amarinder singh only who revived the dead congress not only in punjab but also in a common sikh mindset.Those who call him an agent of any agency are actually the visionless and spineless bunch of impotent goofs who instead of acclaiming his deeds,keep on criticizing him as they are aware of the fact he is the one without any comparison.