- British newspaper says cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has secretly wedded former BBC weather girl Reham Khan but PTI chief says marriage reports are ‘greatly exaggerated’
- Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan says she hopes her brother will only marry ‘a good person’
The reports of my marriage are greatly exaggerated!
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 31, 2014
That is what Imran Khan had to say to a report in British newspaper Daily Mail that he had found his second wife.
The report indicates that cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has tied the knot with Reham Khan, a former BBC weather girl and mother of three. The couple had been together for a few months before signing the dotted line, the report claims.
The marriage is seen as one of the worst kept secrets to ever exist in Pakistan. Despite several sources confirming that the marriage has taken place, the duo has persistently denied that it has happened.
Pakistan Today first broke the news back in November when it learned that the duo were an item. Considering Khan has refused to say that the marriage never happened, and only said that it’s a mere exaggeration, it remains to be seen what part of this news is exaggerated according to Imran Khan.
Furthermore, the union was first brought into the open by a senior journalist at Channel 24. However, Reham Khan denied the news in an “arranged” interview to a news channel at that time. She had then said that senior journalists were jealous of her success as a TV anchor and were trying to malign her “due to their own insecurities”. However, the very same rumours and anecdotes are proving to be real.
While Daily Mail claimed on Wednesday that the marriage took place on December 27, 2014, however, local sources told Pakistan Today has learned that the wedding took place on Muharram 7 i.e. November 1.
For whom the bells toll:
The wedding was expected by many who have been waiting on news about Khan’s second marriage. Khan himself took to the Dharna (sit-in) stage to announce his desire to bring home a second wife. His words were echoed by those of his sisters who claimed to be waiting for the “revolution” to end so they could get their brother remarried.
Despite this, reports indicate that Reham’s entry into Khan’s life has not been taken too well by this family. This is surprising to say the least since his sisters were shopping for a new sister-in-law only a few weeks ago; the only hindrance at that point in time was PTI’s power struggle with the government.
In statements released to Daily Mail, Khan’s sister Aleema rejected the news and stated that it is absolutely false.
“I spoke to my brother a few days ago and he said it isn’t true,” she said. “We, the family, just asked him outright, have you married her? And he said no. I don’t know if they are in a relationship, here [in Pakistan] you are either getting married or you are not.
“We’d be extremely happy if he marries a ‘good person’ and settles down, of course we would. But it is not just his consideration, it’s a consideration for the country, it’s like a national-level decision.”
When asked if Khan is in a hush-hush relationship with Reham, Aleema was less certain. “It’s a confusing signal to everyone who follows him [but] we asked him if he was married and he said no. I don’t know if he is in a relationship. We just asked him if he was married.”
In October, Jemima reverted back to her original surname and ditched the Khan moniker. Her move fuelled rumours that another Khan wedding was on the horizon. Jemima had explained her stance at the time by stating, “My ex-husband, Imran, recently announced that he intended to get remarried soon, which made me think it’s probably time to change my name back to Goldsmith.”
A PTI source said that Imran Khan was perturbed that he could not break the news to his two sons earlier, which is why he would now be visiting them in Britain and iron out any apprehensions.
Tough times ahead:
The Daily Mail report suggests that the two have been dating for a while with Imran Khan often visiting Reham at her work place. Reham has had good access to Imran Khan and his political party was always in the know about their relationship, the report claimed.
Daily Mail further reported comments from one of Reham’s family friends.
“She had an affair some time back but it finished very quickly. Later, we learned that she was very serious with Imran Khan and there was news that Imran felt the same. But, I think after realising that he would be trapped in another problem, Imran has now put some distance between them,” the person said anonymously.
While the world is waiting for the couple to make a formal official announcement, it seems that there is trouble on the horizon. Previously, media reports had indicated that Reham was gearing up for her role as First Lady PTI and potentially First Lady Pakistan. She was hoping to become active in politics under the PTI banner as well!
Imran Khan distancing himself from Reham could serve as some relief for his family and party members, who have reportedly tried to dissuade him from marrying her. They were of the view that marrying a divorced woman with three children could hurt Khan’s political career, Daily Mail reported.
According to the Daily Mail report, photos and videos of Reham wearing revealing clothes and doing the tango are already irking the conservative public in Pakistan. Rival parties have also been seen using this as an excuse to attack Khan and further malign his credibility as the leader of PTI. While some have criticised Reham, others have been quick to point out that Imran himself has a very colourful history.
What happens next?
Pakistan Today reached out to Shireen Mazari for a comment but was told to refer to Imran Khan’s ambiguous tweet which doesn’t accept or deny anything. The main thing on everyone’s mind right now is did he or didn’t he? And if he did, then what’s the harm in coming out and letting the world know?
Social media has been abuzz ever since news broke. Reham herself seems to have tweeted nothing about the news so far, the only relevant activity on her Twitter was another tweet that she had retweeted:
For true love it doesn’t mean being in a physical relationship -it simply means you love sharing your heart & soul with someone special …
— Qasim Khan (@Qasimkhaan2) December 31, 2014
One twitter user @Iam_Maleeha said: “Oh wait. You said exaggerated means you are not denying it. Whaa??”.
A few others wanted some clarification, @UmairAzmat13:”u mean they are not false.. but exxaggerated.. Hmm.”, @HadeedSher said: “Yes, what does it mean? Can he be a bit clear? The ! mark proves the account is with Shireen Mazari”
And some were just plain concerned, @AatraMinhasPTI said: “means u are not denying it Kaptaan ? .. Confuse nah karain please. Ya han bolain ya nah :I”
At the end of the day, all people really want to ask Imran Khan is this: “Jab pyar kiya tu darna kya?”