Free Republic

MUMBAI (Reuters) - A prize-winning bikini competition contestant who claimed to represent Pakistan, sparking some outrage in the Muslim country, says she wanted to project the nation as a modern one. Officials in Pakistan, which does not hold beauty pageants, said on Thursday they were investigating how Texas-based Mariyah Moten, 22, entered a "Miss Bikini" pageant in China last month as a Pakistani contestant. Pakistan-born Moten, who holds an American passport, won a "Best in Media" title for being the most photographed and interviewed contestant, media reports said. "I have broken all the barriers, and in the coming years there...

A prize winning bikini contest model who claimed she was the Pakistani representative has sparked outrage in the predominantly Muslim country. Stunning Mariyah Moten, 22, won the 'Best in Media' title - for being the most photographed and interviewed contestant - at the pageant in the Chinese resort of Beihai. But furious Pakistani authorities say she did not have permission to represent the country, where many women only go out in public covered in a veil. They are now threatening the model, who grew up in Pakistan but holds a US passport after she moved there eight years ago, with...