Tharoor caught in tweet war between wife, Pak woman journalist

The diplomat-turned politician says we are distressed by the unseemly controversy that has arisen about some unauthorised tweets from our twitter accounts

Union Minister Shashi Tharoor on Thursday landed in a controversy over a cross-border tweet war involving his wife and a Pakistani woman journalist in which allegations of an affair between him and the foreigner came up. As the row surrounding the 57-year-old Tharoor escalated, the minister took to Twitter for a joint statement with wife Sunanda Pushkar to say they were "happily married", but distressed by "some unauthorised tweets".

"We wish to stress that we are happily married and intend to remain that way. Sunanda has been ill and hospitalised this week and is seeking rest. We would be grateful if the media respects our privacy," said the statement by Tharoor, who married Pushkar in 2010. The row erupted after exchange of some messages involving the three, some of these intimate.

"We are distressed by the unseemly controversy that has arisen about some unauthorised tweets from our twitter accounts," the diplomat-turned politician said.

Pushkar has accused the 45-year-journalist Mehr Tarar of stalking her husband and trying to "break" her marriage when she was away for medical treatment.

‘Dubbing me ISI agent has put my life in jeopardy’
Tarar said being labelled an Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agent by Pushkar had put her life in jeopardy.

"I am very happy if they are happy. But I really want to know why Sunanda has put my life in jeopardy by labelling me an ISI agent. My life has been put in danger not only in India but in Pakistan also."

On Pushkar's allegation she was "stalking" Tharoor, she said: "I am not a 15-year-old to stalk someone. She said I am out to spoil Shashi’s election. But Kerala and Lahore are very far off."

The row erupted yesterday after messages involving the three, some of them intimate, were posted on 57-year-old Tharoor's widely followed Twitter account.