Imran Khan’s second ex wife has slated his ‘stolen’ mandate and warned Pakistan ‘can’t walk away’ from him like she did after he declared victory in elections.
Journalist and former BBC weather girl Reham Khan married the cricket legend in January 2015 only for their disastrous union to last just ten months.
As the 65-year-old sports star turned politician declared victory for his party today, mother-of-three Reham penned a scathing assessment of her former husband – telling Pakistan citizens they are ‘now stuck with him’.
Her reaction was in stark contrast to his first wife, British film producer Jemima Goldsmith, who congratulated him in a tweet saying: ’22 years later, after humiliations, hurdles and sacrifices, my sons’ father is Pakistan’s next PM.’
Reham Khan, the second ex wife of Imran Khan has slated his ‘stolen mandate’ and warned Pakistan ‘can’t walk away’ from him like she did after he declared victory in elections. The couple are pictured in January 2015
Journalist and former BBC weather girl Reham Khan (pictured) married the cricket legend in January 2015 only for their disastrous union to last just ten months
As the 65-year-old sports star turned politician declared victory for his party today, mother-of-three Reham penned a scathing assessment of her former husband – telling Pakistan citizens they are ‘now stuck with him’
Reham, in an article posted on Theprint.in that she posted on her Twitter account, said: ‘And so, what is my reaction to the news of Imran Khan finally getting what he wanted? Relief that I am not with him at this time.
‘He will be remembered as the man who stole the people’s mandate. For me, it is important to be with a man who commands respect because of his intellect or ability.
‘It is impossible to be with someone who compromises his integrity and becomes the butt of jokes. But Pakistan, however, is now stuck with him. They have no option of walking away from their PM-to-be like I did.’
Reham, a divorced mother of three, met Imran in 2012 after she moved to Pakistan and interviewed him for a television news channel.
After a second interview, he invited her to dinner, she said, telling her he had something important to discuss – and then proposed marriage.
Astonished, Reham accepted, but her disillusionment was swift. She claimed that he was so spoiled he did not know how to use a microwave oven or a cashpoint.
Khan was married to the British journalist Jemima Goldsmith – who is Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith’s sister – from 1995 to 2004. They have two sons. Pictured: The couple in 2002
‘He’s the only celebrity we have in Pakistan and expects everyone to do everything. I told him: “You’re like Rapunzel in the tower — you have no connection to real life”.
‘He’s so narcissistic and single-minded about his goal [of becoming prime minister] that he forgets the appropriate emotional response to things. He thinks he’s God. I married him because I believed in him and his mission.’
In a self-published memoir, she sensationally claims that Imran has fathered five children out of wedlock — something his advisers strenuously deny. Imran’s friends say her book is nothing more than ‘the ravings of an embittered ex’.
The end of the marriage came after Imran apparently told her not to attend a political rally.
It was reported that she had hit him across the back of the head with an open hand during a disagreement over her political role.
Supporters of Pakistan’s cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan, head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) party, celebrate during general election in Lahore last night
Reham was notified of their Islamic divorce — talaq — by text and email seven days later. One friend of Khan’s observed: ‘He thought he was getting Jackie Kennedy, but instead ended up with Hillary Clinton.’
Khan was married to British journalist Jemima Goldsmith – who is Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith’s sister – from 1995 to 2004. They have two sons.
In February, Khan married again, to Bushra Maneka, a leading Sufi [Islamic mystic] scholar, divorcee and mother of five. He had sought spiritual guidance from her some three years previously when she was still married.
Because Maneka, 39, wears a veil in front of men other than her husband, Khan did not see her face until after their wedding — although he had seen a photograph of her as a young woman.
‘I did not catch a glimpse of my wife’s face until after we were married . . . I was not disappointed, and now am happily married,’ he said, adding: ‘I have gradually realised that although I know more about physical attraction, the mind and intellect are much more important than the physical. I have great respect for my wife’s intellect and character.’