Nikkah drop scene was the objective: Umar Cheema

ISLAMABAD: Commenting on confirmation of Imran Khan’s marriage, Umer Cheema said, “I have already said this earlier and I still stick to my claim that Imran Khan’s Nikkah was solemnised on January 1, 2018.”

Talking to Geo News on Sunday, The News reporter said they repeatedly denied the news but you can see … they could not change any single character, including the Nikkah Khawan, of the news.

He said the photo of the marriage shows Mufti Saeed, whom he mentioned in the news as Nikkah Khawan, and Aun Chaudhry, who also was named in the news.

He said the photo was taken after Nikkah and he was pretty sure that the Nikkah was solemnized on January 1. He said in case of marriage with Reham Khan, Imran did the same. The Nikkah was conducted on October 29 and on December 31 Imran tweeted that the news of his marriage was being exaggerated in the media.

He said Imran then solemnized a Nikkah on January 8 only for public display. A similar film is being repeated this time. If they are Sadiq and Ameen, they ought to have at least changed Nikkah Khawan to prove ‘us’ false.

He said if their statement that only a ‘proposal’ for marriage had caused doubts, they should have changed the witnesses and the Nikkah Khawan mentioned in his story. He said at least their own people believed then and by issuing this photo, they were indorsing “our news”.

He said he believed that the photo they had released now was old and was taken after Nikkah, which confirmed each and every word of his story, including the name of Nikkah Khawan. He said Awn Chaudhry was denying his news story but he could be seen in the photo. He said Chaudhry was also a witness in the clandestine Nikkah of Imran Khan with Reham Khan.

“At least you should have made slighter changes in your script so that your followers could have trusted you,” he advised the PTI leadership. He said the Nikkah with Reham Khan was conducted on Muharram 7.

He said PTI was hiding Imran’s new marriage but they could not have kept it pending for so long. He said a drop scene to this drama was inevitable, as many quarters were insisting that it could have caused some political problems.

He said Imran Khan was a determined man and carried out his plans. He said he thought Geo viewers would attach credibility to what he was saying at the time of filing of this news story. The photo has the same bride, groom, Nikkah Khawan and witness as mentioned in his story.

He said he thought that Imran’s sisters were not on board on this issue. He said the photo showed that it was not a simple ceremony; rather, it was secret. None of close relatives are seen in the photo, which means some would have known about it but they would not have agreed to it, he said.

“As for the argument that it was Imran’s personal matter, it’s to be made clear that he is a celebrity and people get excited about him. They love him and remain curious about him. The event became more news-worthy because of what Imran is doing these days,” he said.

At the time of Imran’s marriage with Reham Khan, his sister came on public and her statement hinted about a disagreement. This time, she did not come on public but it is their domestic issue, he said.

Last time Imran had said he was 62, questioning if he needed consultation with anybody for marriage at that age. Cheema said Imran was mature and knew better whom to take into confidence and whom not to.