Fawad accuses Reham of meeting Maryam ahead of book launch

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Central Information Secretary, Fawad Chaudhry, on Saturday claimed the party has solid evidence to prove Reham Khan, ex-spouse of Imran Khan, was meeting Maryam Nawaz through ex-minister Ahsan Iqbal.

“We now have solid evidence to prove Reham Khan was meeting Maryam Nawaz and Ahsan Iqbal so the whole book is an exercise to demolish the only real opposition i.e. PTI…Reham is on the PML-N agenda,” he alleged in a tweet. The PTI also shared what it claimed to be an exchange of e mails between Reham and Ahsan Iqbal in January last year, apparently fixing Ministers’ Enclave for a meeting.

Reham Khan hit back and wrote, “If he has evidence, he can bring it forward. He obviously doesn't. But I'll definitely take him to court over the baseless allegation.” Speculations have been making rounds that Reham has penned a book, mainly focusing on her wedding with Imran and the break-up; she sheds light on the PTI chairman's life. She plans to launch it any time before elections.

A day earlier, the manuscript of Reham’s book was leaked online, which irked several PTI leaders who took to Twitter to accuse her of being part of an "agenda" ahead of the upcoming general elections. Earlier on Saturday, Imran Khan's close friend and London-based businessman Zulfi Bukhari threatened to take legal action against Reham over her upcoming book. Bukhari, who had negotiated with Reham following her divorce with Imran, in a statement said the former TV presenter's move to write the book on her marriage was a "pathetic and filthy attempt." The close friend of Imran said he will take action against her "worldwide."

Reham Khan also alleged in a series of tweets that actor-anchor and PTI supporter Hamza Ali Abbasi has been threatening her since August 2017. Abbasi on Friday tweeted that he had the “very unfortunate experience of reading a manuscript of Reham Khan’s book”. Here is the summary: IK is the most evil man to walk the face of this planet. Reham is the most pious righteous (Tahajjud guzaar) woman ever and Shahbaz Sharif is an amazing guy!” he wrote.

In response, Reham wondered how it was possible for Abbasi to read the manuscript since the book was not released yet. “Only possible through fraud or theft,” she added. The former BBC weather presenter then alleged that Abbasi has been threatening her since August 2017. She followed the allegations with a screenshot of an email conversation between her and the actor. The actor is yet to respond to Reham’s allegations.

A PTI source said Imran and a few other party leaders came across the script of Reham’s book after it was leaked online. "A meeting was held during which the party decided to counter the contents of the book and PTI social media accounts subsequently sent out tweets in condemnation of Reham," the source said.

"Reham and PTI leaders are engaged in confidential email exchanges seeking assurances and issuing threats to each other at the same time," the source added. A source close to Reham said the manuscript of her book was "leaked or hacked" and hence made its way to Pakistan.

Reham also spoke of her book during an interview with Geo News in February this year, after having left the country citing threats to her by unknown individuals. During her appearance on Geo News' show 'Aapas Ki Baat', Reham had said that she has been seeing various reports on her life for quite some time, adding that her book would soon be unveiled, which would have the story of her life.

"Weird things have been written about my life and many people genuinely want to know...about the 'plan' I was part of," she had said sarcastically. "Definitely, there would be a mention of the ones I have been married to. It is a story of my life," the former TV anchor had said, when asked if the book would have a mention of Imran Khan and may damage his political standing. Reham had also said she had tied the knot with Imran on the basis of his ideology and it was not a love marriage. "When I felt things were different then it became difficult for me to continue to compromise."