Who Is Aroosa Alam? Pakistani Journalist Caught In Congress Politics Crossfire

Who Is Aroosa Alam? A Pakistani journalist is in the spotlight in the wake of a fallout in the Indian National Congress' (INC) Punjab wing. Captain Amarinder Singh, ex-Congress leader who resigned last month from his Chief Ministerial role, is said to share a friendship with Aroosa Alam, who is facing allegations of links with her country's top intelligence agency.

Earlier this week, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa issued a statement directing for a probe into Alam's alleged connection to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Hitting back, Singh, through his media representative, said Alam had been coming to India for the past 16 years with government clearance and that no objections were previously raised.

"Never heard you complain about Aroosa Alam," Singh said in response to Randhawa's claims. "And she’d been coming for 16 years with due GoI clearances. Or are you alleging that both NDA and @INCIndia led UPA govts in this period connived with Pak ISI?"

He further added Alam's visa was sponsored by him all these years. "A detailed inquiry" was conducted in 2007 before Alam was given clearance to visit, Singh said.

In a sharp jibe, Singh's media rep further shared a photo of Alam shaking hands with current Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Just by the way. (File photo). @Sukhjinder_INC @INCPunjab @CHARANJITCHANNI @INCIndia pic.twitter.com/NxrrZZT4ic

— Raveen Thukral (@RT_Media_Capt) October 22, 2021

Know Who Is Aroosa Alam, Journalist With A Connection To Former Punjab CM

Alam and Singh's friendship goes back decades, with reports placing a date soon after the latter first assumed role as Punjab CM in 2002. The two first made a public appearance together in 2005 in Jalandhar and have since been spotted at multiple events together - from marking her presence at the launch of Singh's book The Last Sunset in 2010 to attending his CM swearing-in ceremony in 2017.

"My relationship is a sensitive issue even back home. I am a Muslim woman and you know how people back home think," Alam said at a press event in India four years ago, as per The Print. 

Alam, a former defence journalist, is the daughter of Akleem Akhtar who was popular as a romantic partner of Pakistani military leader General Yahya Khan. She reportedly has two sons with little to no information about her husband. Seema Mustafa, the present Editor-in-Chief of the Editors Guild of India, once called Alam the "first lady of Punjab" in a blog.

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