- The duo has officially stopped denying that they’re married
Once a ‘rumour’, now a reality, the wedding between Imran Khan and Reham Khan became official on January 8, 2014. The Nikah was reportedly conducted by Mufti Syed, who spoke to the media on the former cricketer’s behalf, “Imran Khan sb asked me to speak on his behalf to the media, his Nikah just happened and the witnesses included Aun Chaudhry, Zakir Khan, Reham’s friend Aziz and others,” he said.
Pakistan Today reported on Mufti Syed’s being the officiator and Aun Chaudhry and Zakir Khan being the witnesses to the Nikah, which originally took place at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM’s brother’s house on Nov 1 last year, while the present one seems to have taken place at Imran Khan’s residence in Bani Gala, Islamabad. That itself is interesting to note because it is contrary to Pakistani norms where the Nikah is held at the woman’s home and not the man’s.
Interestingly, the Nikah Khuwan refused to comment on whether the Nikah had been conducted earlier on or not. The Haq Mehr has reportedly been set at Rs 100,000.
Reham wore an off-white Karma RED peshwas, while Imran looked dapper in a cream coloured Sherwani, at the ceremony which the two had spent a good amount of time vehemently denying. Khan had gone on to term the news regarding the nuptials an ‘exaggeration’ on his Twitter handle.
That was before he had the chance to discuss his new relationship with his two sons. He returned singing a different tune, one where marrying someone was the right every adult had. And it certainly wasn’t a crime!
While some of Reham’s family and friends were part of the affair, Imran’s four sisters seem to have been left out of the loop.
Aleema Khan, who had earlier lashed out at reports of the marriage as being propaganda and utterly false, had declared that her brother would only marry a “good person”. When the news of the marriage was confirmed she reacted with confusion and disappointment.
Speaking to Pakistan Today, Aleema further denied reports that she and the other sisters had refused to attend the wedding. Instead it seems that they were never asked to come in the first place.
“We, all the sisters, were never informed or contacted by Imran so there was no question to attend it. All of us are in Lahore,” she said.
ROLE MODEL FOR CHILDREN:
Reham herself is quite happy with her role as Khan’s second wife.
Describing the qualities that drew her towards Imran, she told a news channel, “I was looking for a man who would be a good role model for my children.”
“Really admire Imran’s love for his sons…Pakistani men should emulate his example,” she added.
Reham further explained that she had a terrible opinion of her husband before she met him. Furthermore, she had been advised by people time and time again to be careful when dealing with Pakistani politicians. “People get a very wrong impression of him, but he’s different in real life,” she explained.
Some rumours suggested that Reham is anxious to join the political sphere as soon as the wedding is made official, however, Reham doesn’t feel that politics is as effective in terms of the things she wants to work on i.e. education and children’s issues. “I am interested in politics as a journalist, observer and historian,” she further stated.
Meanwhile, it seems like Khan’s sisters weren’t the only ones ‘ignored’.
PTI Secretary General Jahangir Tareen confirmed to local media that no party leaders were invited to the event. “It is completely private. I have not been invited, neither has anyone else. The party understands that this is Khan’s private decision and not for us or anyone to be involved in.”
Evidently, Tareen who is a close confidant and friend to Khan was not introduced to Reham as the future first lady of PTI either. “I have never been introduced to her. No one has… Khan has kept it totally private.”
The couple does not intend to have a Walima (wedding reception) and will instead be feeding children studying in madrassas.