ISLAMABAD: Model and actress from Balochistan Hajra Khan Panezai termed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman a liar and wicked person as she launched on Friday the original version of her autobiography titled ‘Where the Opium Grows: Surviving Pakistan as a Woman, an Actress and Knowing Imran Khan’.
Speaking at the launch ceremony of her book in Islamabad, she also alleged that the PTI chief used to consume cocaine.
Panezai said she had realized as early as 2014 that the person who was considered a hero, a messiah, or a pressure group by the people was a very different person in his private life. She said she had written her autobiography to hold herself accountable for her weaknesses and foolishness.
The actress said she stood by every word published in her autobiography, and most part of the book was about her relations with the PTI chief. She also alleged that a 21-year-old girl became pregnant due to sexual relations with Imran Khan as “200 per cent true”.
She said she was subjected to sexual exploitation when she was six-year-old and her autobiography was based on her struggle.
Panezai told the audience that her father had joined the PTI owing to her friendship with the PTI chairman. She said she felt serious remorse about the quarrels she had had with her friends over the PTI.
She alleged that Imran Khan was the first one to receive the draft of her autobiography upon its completion in 2014. She said she would have been frightened if she had told lies. She said permission hadn’t been granted to publish her autobiography upon its completion. She said she desisted from publishing her book after receiving threats.
The actress claimed that her book had come to the fore after much struggle, as she had to leave Pakistan in her pursuit to get it published. She further said that a London-based publisher had declined to publish her book after reaching the conclusion that it contained a number of allegations and it would be difficult to prove them. She said she had proof to substantiate whatever claims she had made in her book.
Upon her return to Pakistan, Panezai said, her social media accounts and emails had been hacked and they were yet to be recovered.
She said there was nobody behind the publishing of her autobiography as her book had come to the fore after her years-long struggle. She shared that a commercial version of her autobiography was yet to be published.
The actress acknowledged that people had varying degrees of opinions about her based on her profession. She said she had remained a model and an actress and she had made such choices freely in her life. She said she could wear anything as her attire didn’t belong to any Toshakhana. She conceded that the subject of her autobiography could be an ideal person for anyone as she had written about the qualifications of this person and dashing of her expectations about him. She said the contents of her books were based on her personal observations.
Panezai said she hadn’t written her autobiography to publish a love story or to indulge in character assassination. She said the world of show business was full of rackets to support its elitist culture.
She said that perceiving Imran Khan as a political force or a messiah showed the inexperience or lack of knowledge of the person who held such views.
She quoted former US president Donald Trump as saying that he would contest the American presidential election on behalf of the Republican Party as its voters were most foolish.
Panezai said she had a personal life, whereas a politician was devoid of such a privilege. She was of the view that a candidate for a public office was also accountable for their personal life.
She said politicians had a personal life as well, but they chose to interfere in the personal lives of their potential voters by advancing the argument that questions would be asked in the afterlife if they did not vote for them. She asked if this was not interference in her personal life. She also asked if it did not become her personal safety’s issue when they talked about rape and said men were not like robots.
The actress clarified to the audience that her struggle was not meant to secure any political office. She said she would be deprived of her personal life once she chose to be a candidate for any political office. We viewed a person as a messiah and we used to quarrel over him, but now I have to seek forgiveness from my friends, said Panezai.
She alleged that Imran Khan had sold religion. “He [Imran Khan] had to use a bicycle to go to office, a bicycle which nobody has seen so far.”
She clarified that she hadn’t published her autobiography to change the political loyalties of people. She said her views about the person she was talking about were based on her personal observations.
Panezai said that if given an opportunity, she would reverse a number of decisions she had taken in her earlier life. She said a social media platform of bereft of ethics. She said the Pakistani society was subjected to severe polarisation after Imran Khan had gained popularity.
She said that one had to face trolling when one chose to criticise Imran Khan on social media, and she herself had been a victim of such an unhealthy trend.
Panezai said she did not consider herself to be a hero; rather, she was an ordinary girl from Quetta. She said that through her autobiography she wanted to give a message to the people to ask their daughters not to lower their moral standards for the sake of anyone.
She also talked about the alleged drug addiction of Imran Khan. She disclosed that a brother of hers was also a drug addict. She said the house that had a drug addict turned into hell.
Talking about Ayesha Gulalai, Panezai said Gulali had been subjected to harassment, but her case was different from her (Gulalai). She said she had earlier regarded Imran Khan as a person blessed by God, but now he (Khan) heads a cult.
She conceded that she had been mostly at fault in her friendship with Imran Khan. “I want that others shouldn’t repeat the mistakes I committed in my life.”
Answering a question about a tweet from a 21-year-old woman that Imran Khan was about to become a father, Panezai said the tweet was based on “a 200 per cent truthful story”. The woman in question was out of the country, and she knew her but she didn’t have the right to reveal her identity, said Panezai.
Irfan Ahmed Urfi and Prof Dr Faryal also spoke at the launching ceremony and appreciated the efforts of Panezai.
