Islamabad: What is it about Pakistani men that glamorous women from the West find so irresistible? The latest rumour of pop singer Britney Spears possibly converting to Islam and moving to Pakistan with her companion Adnan Ghalib has set off a debate among women in the country.
The grapevine is abuzz with twice-divorced singer Britney's romance with little-known Ghalib, a man of Pakistani origin. Britney, according to Britain's Sun newspaper, wanted to fake her death and embrace Islam and move to Pakistan and start a new life.
Ghalib, 35, who works for a photo agency, is being described as "a gold digger" whom the "lonely" and "vulnerable" Britney cannot do without.
According to media reports, Ghalib's respectable Sunni Muslim family in Birmingham is so horrified by his antics that they have disowned him.
"His parents Ghalib and Saghra are devastated. This week his dad gave him an ultimatum, 'Give up Britney, or you are dead to me,' which Adnan ignored," a friend of Ghalib was quoted as saying.
But much before Britney, there was Jemima Khan, the glamorous daughter of a millionaire who married the much older cricketer Imran Khan against her family's wishes and moved to Pakistan. Their marriage did not last and she was back in London with her two sons in less than a decade.
The romance of Diana, the Princess of Wales, who reportedly found her "Mr Wonderful" in a Pakistani cardiologist in London, is another case in point.
Hasnat Khan decided not to marry his love because of the great cultural divide. Unfortunately, his marriage to a woman of Afghan royalty did not last reportedly because of his Diana connection.
Sehr Naqvi, a homemaker, said, "I think Pakistani men are more committed and, of course, the Pathan genes hold them in good stead. Britney Spears is hardly a good example - well, she could fall for anyone - but we have had Jemima and Diana too falling for Pakistani men."
With the news of Hasnat Khan breaking his silence over his "affair" with Diana, the topic is hot at dinner tables.
"May be he didn't speak about Diana because his own marriage was not working out. We learnt that he has separated from his wife of 18 months just yesterday. But he seems still so much in love with Diana," Naqvi said.
Like Naqvi, many feel Diana and Jemima were good news for Pakistan, but they can do without Spears.
"I can imagine how the orthodox amongst us would react. I can almost see a fatwa against Spears coming," said Shazia, Naqvi's 22-year-old daughter.
Shahida Haq, another homemaker, wondered what is it about Pakistani men that make them so "special" to Western women.
"Look at the way they treat our women. I think they are so chauvinistic and full of themselves. I wonder what these women find attractive in them?”
"May be they should launch their charm offensive on Pakistani women. That's something we women will never complaint against," Haq chuckled.
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