Nazia Hassan’s husband, Ishtiaq Baig strikes back at singer Zohaib Hassan’s explosive allegations against him. In counter allegation, he also accuses Zohaib Hassan of being a close friend of Noor Mukadam’s murderer Zahir Jaffer.
Earlier, Zohaib Hassan accused Mirza Ishtiaq of poisoning Nazia Hassan with arsenic. The poisoning, which as per Zohaib Hassan’s statements, eventually led to her death.
However, Ishtiaq Baig denied all accusations of poisoning Nazia Hassan by calling them “baseless.” He said that it is a campaign against him by Zohaib and his mother Muneeza Basir who were against Nazia’s marriage from the beginning.
As per Ishtiaq Baig, Nazia was the “bread earner of the family.” Marriage to Ishtiaq Baig meant that her music career would come to a halt. It also meant that Zohaib would face a lapse in his career as a singer as he relied on Nazia Hassan for support.
Read more: Nazia Hassan was poisoned to death by her husband: Zohaib Hassan
“My enmity with Zohaib began when Nazia married me and ended her music career. Zohaib’s career suffered due to this and he held me responsible and said that he will destroy my name,” Ishtiaq Baig said.
He also criticized Zohaib for being emotionally independent on Nazia Hassan.
Zohaib Hassan’s links to murderer Zahir Jaffer
While talking to various media outlets on the issue, Ishtiaq Baig questioned the timing of the accusations. He said the claims of poisoning Nazia are a conspiracy to divert the media’s attention from the Noor Mukadam case.
As per claims by Ishtiaq Baig, Zohaib Hassan has close ties with Zahir Jaffer because of their mothers. Ishtiaq Baig revealed that Muneeza Basir is the best friend of Asmat Jaffer, the mother of Zahir Jaffer. She is currently in prison on the charges of facilitating Noor Mukaddam’s murder.
Read more: US Embassy in Pakistan distances itself from Noor Mukadam murder case
“Zohaib is a very close friend of Zahir Jaffer,” Ishtiaq Baig said. “Till yesterday, the media’s main focus was on Noor Mukaddam’s case, now all the outlets are focused on the allegations by Zohaib.”
He then calls out Zohaib Hassan for allegedly remaining silent all these years. Nazia Hassan died in 2000, and according to Ishtiaq Baig, Zohaib is accusing him of poisoning Nazia after 21 years.
“After all these years, Zohaib is now realizing that injustice was done to his sister?” Ishtiaq Baig said.
“UK is not like Pakistan where you can influence someone. What was Zohaib doing all these years?” Ishtiaq Baig further questioned.
Zohaib Hassan and his mother Muneeza Basir are known to raise these allegations every year on Nazia Hassan’s death anniversary i.e August 13th.
Read more: Zoheb Hassan warns of action against sister’s ex-hubsand
Mirza Ishtiaq Baig also denied ever divorcing Nazia Hassan. Ishtiaq Baig says he dearly loved his wife and did not marry again after her death. Baig added that Nazia Hassan was legally his wife till her death, as shown in the death certificate issued by the UK.
Zohaib Hassan’s accusations: An emotional vengeance?
According to Mirza Ishtiaq Baig, Zohaib Hassan continues to make baseless allegations against him out of vengeance. Nazia Hassan did not die of poisoning, but her death was due to cancer.
As per Mirza Ishtiaq Baig, Nazia Hassan told him of her cancer and its treatment in 1992, before their marriage, which took place in 1995. After their marriage, Nazia Hassan wanted to have a child.
There were fears of Nazia relapsing due to the extreme stress the body goes through during childbirth. However, despite knowing the risks, Nazia still insisted on having a child, which eventually caused her relapse in 2000.
Nazia Hassan lived short, loved her brother, had charisma & huge impact across the world;however allegations by Zohaib of poisoning by husband 21 years after her death fail to convince, looks like an emotional reaction with little substance https://t.co/JASl3BfDky via @GVS_News
— Moeed Pirzada (@MoeedNj) August 13, 2021
Ishtiaq Baig also says that he has all the evidence of medical reports and no credible medical evidence ever backed Zohaib Hassan’s claims of Nazia being poisoned.
Due to marital distress, Nazia may have voiced her fears to Zohaib. However, as per Mirza Ishtiaq, there is no evidence of Nazia ever being poisoned.
As of now, Mirza Ishtiaq Baig is in contact with his lawyers and will file a defamation case of Rs. 1 billion against Zohaib Hassan.