Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has denied claims that he was involved in the release of eight Indian Navy veterans by Qatar.
On Tuesday, former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy claimed that the superstar helped persuade the Qatar government to release eight Indian Navy veterans held on espionage charges.
"Modi should take Cinema star Sharuk Khan to Qatar with him since after MEA and NSA had failed to persuade the Shiekhs of Qatar, Modi pleaded with Khan to intervene, and thus got an expensive settlement from the Qatar Shiekhs to free our Naval officers (sic)," Swamy said in reply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's post on X.
Shah Rukh Khan's team issued a statement denying the former BJP leader's claims.
"Regarding the reports concerning Shah Rukh Khan's purported role in the release of India's naval officers from Qatar, the office of Mr. Shah Rukh Khan says that any such assertions of his involvement are unfounded, emphasizing the execution of this successful resolution solely rests with the Indian government officials and unequivocally denies Mr. Khans participation in this matter (sic)," Shah Rukh Khan's manager Pooja Dadlni shared a statement on Instagram.
"Additionally, all matters involving diplomacy and statecraft are best executed by are very able leaders. Mr. Khan like many other indians is happy that the naval officers are home safe and wishes them all the best," the statement added.
Shah Rukh Khan was recently in Qatar to attend the AFC Final as a special guest of honour. He was seen being greeted by Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in pictures.
In a statment issued early Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs said seven of the eight former Indian Navy personnel returned to India from Qatar.
The Navy veterans were detained in the Gulf country in an alleged case of espionage in August 2022. The Qatari authorities had accused them of spying on a submarine, and they were jailed in the same month.
