Imran Khan ‘secretly married’ his spiritual guide, says report
ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan has secretly married a woman who had been offering him spiritual guidance for some time, a Pakistani newspaper reported on Saturday, prompting denials from aides of the 65-year-old cricketerturned-politician.
There has been no word from Khan, who was married twice earlier, on the matter.
The News daily, citing multiple sources, reported that Khan had married the unnamed woman on the night of January 1 at the home of a close confidante of the bride in Sector Y of Defence Housing Authority in Lahore.
The confidante of the bride is the friend of a leader of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf party. The woman lives in Gulberg area of Lahore and Khan had been visiting her to seek spiritual guidance after meeting her a couple of years back, the daily reported.
The report said the woman had filed for the dissolution of her marriage with a government servant some months ago. Her former husband confirmed the separation, saying it had happened for “spiritual reasons”, but denied his former wife has married Khan.
The ‘nikah’ or marriage was performed by Mufti Saeed, a member of Tehreek-e-insaf’s core committee, The News reported. Saeed had solemnised Khan’s January 2015 marriage with TV anchor Reham Khan that ended in divorce in 10 months.
Awn Chaudhry, the political secretary to Khan, and Naeem-ulhaque, a spokesperson for the Tehreek-e-insaf, both denied the report about Khan’s marriage.
The News reported Saeed was “reluctant to either confirm or reject” the reported marriage. The report said Chaudhry is “believed to have attended the ceremony”.
“I have been with Khan to Lahore (on the said dates),” Chaudhry was quoted as saying. Chaudhry was earlier a witness at Khan’s second marriage. Haque told the daily that he could “say with absolute confidence that nothing like this occurred”. He added, “Even if he (Khan) marries, he will do (so) after the general elections of 2018.”
Khan had first tied the knot with British socialite Jemima Khan in May 1995. The union ended in divorce in June 2004. He had said in a 2016 interview with Hindustan Times that he would not give up the idea of marrying again.