Residents in Reham Khan’s hometown

MANSEHRA: The residents of Baffa, the native town of Reham Khan, were jubilant on her marriage with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and many distributed sweets to express their happiness on Thursday.
A number of people came out of shops and houses as the media aired the news about the Nikah of Reham Khan with Imran Khan. They celebrated the occasion by distributing sweets and offering Mubarik to each other. Some of them said it was a great day. “We pray for the success of the wedding. This bond is likely to bring development to the historic town of Baffa,” remarked Anwar Zeb, who claimed to be a cousin of the father of Reham Khan.
He said that Nayyar Ramzan, the father of Reham Khan and a doctor by profession, had gone to Libya for work before the birth of his daughter.Anwar Zeb said that Dr Nayyar Ramzan after his death was also laid to rest at their ancestral graveyard in Baffa, which is situated about 15km west of Mansehra city. “We are very pleased as a woman of our family has married the great cricketer Imran Khan,” he said.
The ancestral house of Reham Khan, situated at Mohallah Lughmani in Baffa, presented a deserted look. “The family house of Reham Khan is not in the use of the family and has been locked for the last many years. However, her family members living in Peshawar occasionally came to Baffa and stayed in the house,” Anwar Zeb said.
He said that Justice (Retd) Abdul Hakeem Khan, who served as acting governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when General Ziaul Haq was in power after enforcing martial law in the country, was an uncle of Reham Khan.
Mohammad Khalid, another relative of Reham Khan, said the marriage was an arranged one between the families of Imran Khan and Reham Khan as they wanted to organize it in a traditional way.
Shafqat Javed, a resident of Baffa, said Mansehra and Baffa had witnessed another great marriage. “First the daughter of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam, married Captain (Retd) Mohammad Safdar who belongs to Mansehra city and is now Member of the National Assembly, and at present Imran Khan has married Reham Khan hailing from Baffa,” he pointed out.
He said the local people were optimistic that the historic Baffa town, which was neglected by successive governments, would now regain its lost glory and would be put on the path of development and prosperity by the PTI-led provincial government.