PTI rubbishes reports of Imran’s third marriage, says party chief only proposed

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has rubbished reports of party chief Imran Khan’s third marriage, but said he has proposed marriage to a woman named Bushra Maneka.

The statement issued by the PTI said that the party chief has only proposed Bushra Maneka but she has asked for time to “{make a final decision”, requesting media to respect privacy of both the families.

Official Statement issued by Chairman Secretariat. pic.twitter.com/29p2VJu20u

— PTI (@PTIofficial) January 7, 2018

A media outlet, earlier, reported that the PTI chairman welcomed 2018 by marrying Bushra Maneka—daughter-in-law of Ghulam Muhammad Maneka—on the night of January 1 in Lahore, and came straight from there the next day to appear before the anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad that granted him bail.

According to the media outlet, Maneka’s family sources have confirmed the news of the wedding.

Mufti Saeed, a member of PTI core committee, read the nikkah of the couple. It’s pertinent to mention here that Saeed was also the nikkah khawan when Imran publicly entered into marriage with Reham Khan on January 8, 2015.

While Awn Chaudhry and Naeem-ul-Haq have denied the reports of this marriage, the mufti was reluctant to either confirm or refute this story.

Awn, the political secretary of the PTI chief, is believed to have attended the ceremony—something he outrightly denied, and also dismissed the notion that the Nikkah took place. Awn was also a witness in PTI chief’s previous marriage to Reham Khan.

Similarly, spokesman for the party head, Naeem-ul-Haq also dismissed this, adding that if Khan was to marry, he would do so after the general elections.

However, Mufti Saeed was hesitant to issue any denial. When he was first approached on Thursday night, Saeed remarked, “I will not say anything on this matter. Please accept my apology,” he said, repeating the same line he did when approached after Imran’s marriage with Reham.

Imran supposedly developed a relationship with Bushra when he went to her for spiritual guidance a couple of years ago. This would be the third marriage of Imran Khan; he first married Jemima Khan on May 16, 1995, a marriage that lasted nine years. His second marriage was with Reham Khan, a TV anchor, which lasted only 10 months.