Pakistan, Nov. 10 -- PHUKET - Representing Pakistan at the 74th Miss Universe pageant, Roma Riaz turned heads at the Moonlight Sky Gala Welcome Dinner this week - not just for her stunning silver-beige sari by designer Kanwal Malik, but for the powerful message that followed.

Riaz's choice of attire drew criticism from some online commentators who questioned why Miss Universe Pakistan had chosen a garment often regarded as "Indian." Responding with grace and conviction, Riaz reframed the sari as a shared cultural legacy that predates national borders.

"The sari isn't owned by borders. It's part of our shared heritage, woven long before the lines between us existed," she wrote on Instagram. "It was born from the soil of the Indus Valley ...