On Monday, a video went viral which showed former Pakistani High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit reveal that he had convinced columnist Shobha De to write an article asking for self-determination in Kashmir.

On Monday, a video went viral which showed former Pakistani High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit reveal that he had convinced columnist Shobha De to write an article asking for self-determination in Kashmir.

In an interview to a Pak blogger, Basit says it was a challenge for him to find an Indian journalist in ‘mainland India’ who write an article in a mainstream newspaper for ‘self-determination of Kashmir’.

He goes on to say that Shobha De’s article was met with such fury that she didn’t step out in public for two months. He also said that India had more freedom of speech, pointing out the debates saying he was very ‘impressed’ by Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari’s speeches.

Shobha De however vehemently rejected the allegations claiming she hadn’t met Basit only once in 2019 at the Jaipur Literature fest where he intruded upon a publishing party.

She called it an attempt to ‘discredit her and India’, pointing out that she had written her article in 2016 before she even met Basit. She also said: “I am a proud and patriotic Indian. I am deeply insulted he would say it about that about a person who has built a career on credibility.”