The fairytale engagement of Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik to Indian tennis player Sania Mirza has become embroiled in scandal, after Malik was accused of harassing an Indian women claiming to be his wife.
According to reports, Malik married the woman, Ayesha Siddiqui, over the telephone eight years ago.
Malik admits he spoke to the woman and proposed over the phone but claims he was deceived and the marriage is void.
"In Muslim law, this arrangement doesn't work no matter what paper may or may not be there simply because, when the proposal was made, the image in my head was the girl in the photographs, but the girl, who was accepting the proposal was someone else. That's cheating," Malik told the Times of India. "My mistake was my innocence."
Indian police are now investigating and Malik has had his passport confiscated. Malik and Mirza are still planning to marry on April 15, although family insiders say they may now postpone.
The sudden complication has upset those who felt that the marriage might help repair Indian-Pakistan relations. Pakistan's government is standing behind their star cricketer, and has demanded full details of the Indian investigation.
WATCH a Reuters report on the scandal:
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