Sunday Times 2
Former cricketer Imran Khan marries TV weather girl for £850 dowry
Imran Khan has finally married ex-BBC weather girl Reham Khan at a low-key wedding ceremony in Pakistan after weeks of speculation – but not a single member of his family was invited.
A close friend of the cricketer-turned-politician announced he had tied the knot with the divorced mother-of-three at his home in Islamabad in accordance with Islamic law.
Mr Khan's sisters did not attend the 'nikkah' - Islamic marriage ceremony (above)- amid reports they do not approve of the match (AFP PHOTO/PAKISTAN TEHREEK INSAF (PTI) PARTY)
Mr Khan’s sisters did not attend the ‘nikkah’ – Islamic marriage ceremony – amid reports they do not approve of the match. Aleema Khan said: ‘We were neither aware nor informed of the nikkah prior to this.’
However the bride’s mother, sister and two close friends were all present for the intimate ceremony, according to her nephew Yusuf Khan.
He said: ‘I am very close to her, she is like my mother. We have decided to hold a small reception tomorrow. There were only a few close friends of Imran Khan present at the occasion.
‘The majority of our family lives in UK and USA and that is the reason only my mother, grandmother and I attended it from close family.’
Mr Khan’s spokesman said the wedding was kept small to honour the 145 victims of the terrorist attack on a school in Peshawar last month, in which 132 children died.
Spokesman Naeemul Haq said: ‘We did not want to celebrate it in big way due to the Peshawar school massacre.
‘They look very elegant together. It is the biggest news of the new year for the people of Pakistan. Tomorrow both bride and groom will distribute food among the poor and needy.’
Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema, confirmed that none of his family were present and said they were never asked to attend. The match has caused huge controversy in Pakistan where Mr Khan is chairman of the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Mrs Khan said: ‘We, all the sisters, were never informed or contacted by Imran so there was no question to attend it. All of us are in Lahore.’
Zakir Khan, a close friend of Mr Khan who witnessed the marriage, confirmed the dowry, a ceremonial fee paid for the bride, was 82,000 rupees -
In this handout photograph released by the Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) party on January 8, Pakistani opposition leader Imran Khan (L) and new wife Reham Khan pose for a photograph during their wedding ceremony at his house in Islamabad. The wedding ended years of speculation surrounding the former playboy cricketer widely considered his country's most eligible man (AFP PHOTO/PAKISTAN TEHREEK INSAF (PTI) PARTY)
around £850.
He said: ‘I can confirm that Imran Khan and Reham Khan’s Nikah [legal marriage contract in Islam] took place at Imran Khan’s Bani Gala bungalow.
‘I and four other friends were present at the occasion and we signed the marriage papers as witnesses.
‘A reception for close friends and family will be held tomorrow.’
Mr Khan’s wedding may also have doubled as a fundraiser for a new cancer Hospital, which is currently under construction in Peshawar, according to reports today.
His party’s spokesperson, Shireen Mazari, rubbished reports that only those who agreed to donate money for the hospital would be invited to the reception.
The formal announcement comes after a turbulent week for the couple, who have incited the wrath of Mr Khan’s family and the wider public in Pakistan.
A friend of Mrs Khan, 41, told how she was suffering emotional turmoil after being trolled over her marriage to the Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician.
Some social media users have accused the divorced mother-of-three of being a lesbian and one image even claims to show her in a sex shop.
A producer at Dawn TV told MailOnline that the backlash had left the broadcaster ‘very disturbed’.
It came as Mr Khan spoke out against the storm surrounding his wedding, telling his critics that marriage is not a crime.
His sister Aleena reacted with anger at the news, saying she doesn’t want to meet the new Mrs Khan.
Told by MailOnline that her brother had revealed he was actually married, Aleema Khan – who claimed the rumours were started by opposition politicians looking to discredit her brother – said: ‘Really? Really? Let’s see if he announces it officially. I am taken aback.
‘This is a real challenge for him. We haven’t met her and I don’t know that we want to meet her.
‘It is his decision, he is a grown up. It is more important how the children feel.
‘I suppose in any situation like this the children will not feel good about it. They do look up to their father.’
Speaking amid a political storm surrounding rumours of the marriage, she said she hoped Reham Khan ‘will be good for Pakistan and our brother’.
But speaking from his home in Islamabad yesterday, Mr Khan launched a robust defence of his actions and of his new bride, declaring: ‘A person can marry whenever he/she wants.’
He pointed to the fact that he had in no way deceived his wife and insisted that he put his two teenage children first when coming to a decision.
The 62-year-old said: ‘I didn’t think of my marriage for 10 years after my divorce because my children were small. I do not ever think of hurting my children’s feelings.’
Khan’s ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith has been among those to offer her congratulations to the former cricketer.
She tweeted: ‘I hope Imran will be happy in this new phase of his life.’
Ms Goldsmith, who divorced Khan in 2004 after nine years of marriage and has two teenage sons with him, also spoke of her fondness for Pakistan.
Ms Goldsmith revealed in October that she was ditching the surname ‘Khan’ and reverting to her family name because her ex-husband was about to remarry.
She said at the time: ‘My ex-husband, Imran, recently announced that he intended to get remarried soon, which made me think it’s probably time to change my name back to Goldsmith.’
Khan married Ms Goldsmith in a traditional Islamic ceremony in Paris in 1995.
On New Year’s Eve, Mr Khan said rumours of marriage were ‘greatly exaggerated’ and his sister Aleema said the family challenged him ‘a few days ago’ over the news and he denied it.
But speaking to reporters at Heathrow airport on Tuesday, before boarding a flight to Pakistan, Khan is reported to have said: ‘I am going to Pakistan to share good news about my marriage with the nation. I have nothing to hide.’
© Daily Mail, London