Questions Imran’s marriages raise

• Especially the secrecy

Why did chief of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan conceal his marriage for the second time? If journalist Umar Cheema was wrong about Imran’s marriage then why didn’t PTI launch a spatter and barrage of bicker against him when he first reported about it? Imran has always emphasised on moral and social values; however, does his marriage and its subsequent proclamation show signs of any shroud of Pakistani societal values? There is nothing wrong for a man to marry a woman while remaining in the established legal framework of the society. Imran himself asked on a number of occasions that is marrying someone a crime? The answer is simply – no. Nevertheless, an elderly man who is 65 years old, father of two grown up sons, already married twice, wants to become the prime minister of Pakistan and still claims to be young – yes, his marriage is surely news worthy and absolutely moot-able.

During the dharna episode in 2014, Imran stated that we should build Naya Pakistan as soon as possible so that he could marry. Nonetheless, the whole idea of Naya Pakistan was left to rot in the D-Chowk and Imran Khan quietly married Reham Khan.

Imran Khan always seems to be busy in blaming the politicians of Pakistan as biggest liars; however, does his denial about his marriages make him a liar? What are the moral and religious obligations and bindings of a marriage? It is a religious obligation under the framework of Islamic law to make marriage public. It is quite the other way around to keep it concealed once nikah is being done. It is a moral and religious obligation of a Muslim man to be bold enough to own his bride – since after nikah both of them comes under legal wedlock. It is beyond the conceivable boundary that Imran has repeated the same episode when he denied his previous marriage with Reham Khan.

It is an open secret that the people of Pakistan at-large expect high moral and ethical standards especially from Imran Khan. There is no doubt that before the general elections of 2013 Imran’s political career was different since he maintained a different rhetoric and policy objectives

It is a fact that Umar Cheema – the journalist who first broke the news of Imran’s marriage with Bushra Watto – must be awarded with some medal for investigative journalism. It clearly exhibits that Cheema was right about Imran’s marriage.

Imran Khan has to realise that lies, deceit and deception are inherent characteristics of human beings and he is no exception. He always portrayed himself to be an angel in an indirect manner while at the same time denying of being an angel. Niccolo Machiavelli was perhaps the first philosopher who legitimised the use of lies and deception in politics and war. He also gave several new dimensions to morality and ethics. Perhaps it would not be wrong to argue that the pursuit of power and prestige not just in politics but almost everywhere leads human beings to resort to desperate measures.

This article does not aim to malign Imran Khan since he claims that marriage is a private matter of his life. After marriage, though, life and wife are two entirely separate entities – then in what capacity did Imran’s previous wife Reham Khan use to run the affairs of PTI and how did she allegedly use Khyber Puktunkhwa’s government helicopter? Since PML-N’s State Minister Abid Sher Ali pointed out that Reham Khan was using KP government helicopter as a ‘rickshaw’. Nevertheless, Imran Khan has to acknowledge that almost every aspect of a leader’s life just cannot be divided into what is private and what is public. It is prayed here that Imran’s new matrimonial journey pans out unlike the previous two; nevertheless, while scrutinising Imran’s marital priors – it is very much unlikely to happen.

It is an open secret that the people of Pakistan at-large expect high moral and ethical standards especially from Imran Khan. There is no doubt that before the general elections of 2013 Imran’s political career was different since he maintained a different rhetoric and policy objectives. His obsession with Pakistan Muslim League-N is causing more damage than benefits. Imran Khan has a considerable and significant public support; the recent NA-154 Lodhran by-election tells an important story. PTI must contemplate that what actually is causing a surge in PML-N’s support.

One question remains relevant and it would be fruitful to probe why Imran chose to marry Ms Bushra at such a crucial time – since it’s the election year? The 2018 general elections are less than six months away and the care-taker setup is about to be decided. The timing of the marriage gives impetus to those theories which speculate that Imran intends to become prime minister while using the spiritual and religious capacity of his new bride to his benefit. Now, how Ms. Bushra would become the First Lady if Imran continues to pay attention on his personal life instead of the political one? It can be asserted that perhaps Imran’s recent divergence of concentration did cost him NA-154.