Dawn Images

Singer Aima Baig says she has sent a legal notice to news publication FHM Pakistan for ‘vile’ insinuations about her brother and twisting her words from a four-year-old interview, implying that she had a crush on her brother.

The Baazi singer shared a copy of a legal notice on Instagram in which she has asked for damages of Rs100 million and an ‘unconditional and written apology’ within 48 hours.

“This is high time when we should stand against yellow journalism and fake reporting (which is only done for the sake of comments and likes). I have had it enough so here I am standing up for myself and many others [who] become their next prey,” she wrote.

It was followed by screenshots of the legal document purportedly sent to FHM Pakistan, which said that they “posted a false, untrue, malicious and highly defamatory news/post/story on [their] Instagram page”.

“The Instagram account through which you shared is followed by more than three million followers, and the people who view and read your posts tend to believe your statements due to your huge following and international presence, and you are well aware of that fact. It is evident that the scandalous and false and defamatory statement you have attributed to my client is explicitly intended to harm her reputation and to malign her before the public, for the monetary gain you are getting from clicks, views, comments and shares of your scandalous news/post/story,” the notice read.

“To deter you in future from committing such illegal acts and making such false and scandalous news having a bearing on the lives of people, the damages for my client are quantified as Rs. 100,000,000,” the statement said, adding, “you are hereby called upon to tender an unconditional and written apology within 48 hours of the receipt of this notice.”

The legal notice warned FHM Pakistan that if they do not comply and take down the defamatory news from all of their social media platforms, and publish an unconditional apology, they will face a “criminal complaint with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the litigation which may be commenced in both civil and criminal lines”.

On Thursday, FHM Pakistan had posted an edited part from her interview with Samina Peerzada, implying the singer had a crush on her older brother. Baig took to Instagram on the same day, to name and shame the site and asked them to take their post down.

The ‘Washmally’ singer claimed that FHM Pakistan is denying that her video had been edited. “[They’re saying], ‘no, you said it was your brother, my actual brother’. [This] is now getting funny because I legit liked this page and thought there are some sensible people sitting behind [it] but yet again, the SHOCKING FROWNS are back,” she wrote.

The caption of the FHM Pakistan post on Instagram has been edited and it now reads, “An old interview video of Aima Baig is taking rounds on social media, where she said that she had a huge crush on her brother’s friend like brother who is 7 years older than her.”

When contacted, FHM Pakistan said it is preparing a response to Baig’s notice through its lawyer.

Update: FHM Pakistan says it has sent Baig a legal notice, a copy of which has been shared with Images demanding a public apology. The notice says the CEO of FHM Pakistan has approached the FIA’s Cyber Crime Wing against the sharing of his mobile number on social media and it threatens to file a suit for damages of Rs150 million if Baig does not “restrain from the social media campaign” against the publication.