media is known for giving place to false information, rumours and propaganda.
The News approached Mufti Saeed to determine the veracity of these reports. He neither denied nor confirmed and instead advised that the question be put to Imran Khan. “Please don’t drag me into this. Ask Imran Khan instead. I will not comment,” he then said.
When contacted again after the formal ceremony on Thursday, Mufti Saeed said: “Nikah has been performed today”. Asked about the nikah conducted earlier, his reply was: “Leave this matter.” He again didn’t deny that, thus strengthening the long-held impression.
Imran’s close circles, however, contend otherwise. They reject reports of nikah in November as absurd, saying had Imran solemnised nikah in November, he would have announced it then, the way he did today (Thursday), they added.
The same witnesses who were mentioned in the social media as participants of the nikah ceremony in November attended the Thursday’s ceremony. None of Imran’s four sisters attended the ceremony and instead opted to stay in Lahore. Aleema Khan, his elder sister, has told close friends that she stood with her nephews (Imran’s sons from Jemima Khan) who didn’t approve of this new marriage either. “His sisters are in a state of mourning,” one family source confided to The News.
Even Imran’s close friend like Yousaf Salahuddin was opposed to the idea of this marriage, according to the sources. Nevertheless, he will be playing host to the ceremony being organised in Lahore, it has been learnt. Naeem-ul-Haq, Imran’s sidekick, has also been affected by this changing scenario. He was living at Bani Gala palace. Now, he has to rent a house for living.
Other than family and friends, the marriage has also turned out to be surprise news for PTI leaders. Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s reported plan of becoming PTI chairman has also been foiled. Informed circles foresee Reham as Imran’s political successor, but the idea is even hard to digest for the real power brokers credited with making PTI the third force. The word has it that they are reluctant to give security clearance to Imran for the top slot after this marriage, given Reham’s British citizenship. Reham, in a TV interview after nikah on Thursday, said that she was not interested in politics, rather she would continue journalism. It is interesting to note that Imran’s first wife, Jemima Khan, was also a journalist.