A manuscript of Reham Khan’s forthcoming book about her experiences as a “mother, wife, journalist and warrior” has been allegedly leaked, causing a political storm. Reham has reportedly written that her former husband Imran Khan is not ‘sadiq and ameen’ (honest and righteous).
Critics have accused Reham Khan of being part of a political agenda aimed at maligning Imran Khan and his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ahead of the Pakistan general elections. The book has also attracted a lawsuit from her first husband Wasim Akram.
ThePrint asks: Why is Imran Khan so unsettled by ex-wife Reham Khan’s unreleased book?
Imran Khan isn’t nervous, he takes whatever is thrown at him head on
Sikander Fayyaz Bhadera
Member, Executive Committee, PTI
Imran Khan isn’t new to controversies. He has been courting scandals for as long as we remember, but somehow controversies have rarely affected him or his career.
When he joined politics back in 1996, opponent political parties dug out all sorts of scandalous stories of his past to undermine his entry, and they are still doing it. Despite all this, he is slowly but gradually rising to the top.
More often than not, the scandals are manufactured to undermine his rise in politics. We have rarely seen Khan nervous. He takes, whatever is thrown at him, head on, and steers out of it.
In two months, Pakistan is going to have a general election. This election is being seen as Khan’s final chance to actually sit on that ‘Iron Throne’ he has been eyeing for the last 20 years. Release of Reham Khan’s politically motivated, slanderous book, which many think has backing of bitter rival Nawaz Sharif and his party, can potentially damage Khan’s party’s prospects in this all-important election. This seems to be the sole purpose behind writing the book.
Imran Khan has never responded to Reham Khan’s allegations since their divorce while she has been constantly targeting him. This book doesn’t just target him. Reham, with the backing of Khan’s opponents, has levelled allegations against far too many people, with only one target in mind – Imran Khan.
But no one seems to be taking it lying down. People are taking her to the court as well as exposing her on national media ever since the manuscript was leaked. This has scuttled the threat of the book releasing a week before elections. By the time polls are held, the book will be a thing of the past.
Whatever Reham’s book really says, it has already received enormous publicity
Raza Rumi
Editor, Daily Times, visiting faculty at Cornell University and Ithaca College
Reham Khan’s book has not been published yet, but it has created a storm in Pakistan’s media. Television channels have been castigating Reham for allegedly maligning her former husband Imran Khan and his colleagues, including cricket superstar Wasim Akram.
Pakistan is moving towards the next general election, which is scheduled for 25 July. Imran is extremely confident as former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is out of the race due to court verdicts, which have disqualified him for life. The media and pundits are predicting that Imran’s party may be able to form a coalition.
Nevertheless, the situation is tenuous and if Reham’s book – and it is a big IF – contains material that may affect Imran Khan’s election campaign then it is a challenge that needs to be countered. This is why Khan’s loyalists are gunning for Reham. They have claimed that a draft was received from a whistleblower within Reham’s team, and her emails were ‘independently’ hacked (whatever that means), and some of the content was made public.
Imran’s support base includes the urban-middle class, which shapes public opinion and creates electoral ‘wave’ of victory or loss. Mind you, this is a conservative segment of society in Pakistan and happens to be more moralistic than the poor voters in urban slums or on farms. This is why Imran’s team was quick to launch an offensive via mainstream media and countless social media accounts to discredit Reham even before her book reached the stores.
Whatever the book really says – and we shall soon find out – it has received enormous publicity. But its revelations, if any, may not have the impact, given that the narrator has already been painted as an evil character, who is out to get the philanthropic, financially clean hero of Pakistan. This is how the ongoing media campaigns are defaming Reham’s life and, by extension, her book.
If Reham’s book tells me that Imran Khan gets action, I’m not surprised
Junaid Akram
Stand-up comedian, Karachi
The reason why Imran Khan and his party are so jittery is because they fear that the book will expose them as normal, just like anyone out there.
The problem with the subcontinent is that people put leaders on a pedestal and treat them as angels, who can do no wrong.
If the book tells us that Imran Khan gets action, I am not surprised. He’s famous and he’s good-looking. So, he may have done the things he has been suspected of.
I feel Reham Khan has released a fake manuscript, which has caused people to react with lawsuits. The real one may not even have all these details.
She has killed two birds with one stone. She has made them jittery. And, she has created a lot of noise for her book. The PTI shouldn’t be worried because people don’t read many books in Pakistan. I run two libraries in Karachi for free, and even then they are empty. If it was movie, it would have made sense for them to be worried.
The allegation about Wasim Akram’s late wife is a low blow about someone who is a deceased.
I’m not concerned who a politician is sleeping with as long as he/she runs the country well. Unless the politician is involved in something illegal, it is not my concern. I will be proud of a prime minister who can understand my grievances about slow internet speed.
Reham Khan is a very smart woman, and she knows the repercussions and the possible fall-out of the book. She knows who will back her. She recently met Husain Haqqani, who has also been writing controversial books and getting away with it. He must have taught her how to tackle lawsuits. She is in good hands. Clearly, she is bitter after the divorce.
But everyone forgets everything in a week on the internet. Stories of rape, murder, violence against children fade out of our memory.
Reham Khan’s book can serve Imran Khan’s opponents well in forthcoming elections
Ammara Ahmad
Freelance journalist in Lahore
Pakistan’s Constitution has the (in)famous article 62, which requires the parliamentarians to be “Sadiq” and “Ameen” (truthful and honest). Basically, this means, on a bad day, anything can come in your way and you can be disqualified. This article led to the disqualification of Imran Khan’s arch rival, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Now, Reham Khan, the ex-wife of Imran Khan, feels resentful about how she was made to feel helpless in the brief marriage, even as Imran Khan’s aides and new wife, Bushra Maneka, controlled him.
Reham was cornered, vilified and expected to make an exit from public life after the fiasco. She carefully stayed away from joining a political party or taking any public office. Instead, she decided to host TV shows, make television appearances, and write a book.
The book probably contains a glimpse of Imran Khan’s infamous personal life. There could be details of his fancy love life, possible struggles with addiction, emotional challenges, and some information on who’s who in his bachelor’s den. Obviously, a leaked manuscript and alleged email exchanges are not enough to make any conjectures about the book.
Only when the book is out can we know if she was under the influence of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) – the main political opponent of Imran Khan. But needless to say, it will serve them well in the forthcoming election. The tag of “truthful and honest” is at risk of being shattered.
Imran Khan’s opponents are hungry. Imran has left no stone unturned to break their government. Any personal shortcomings listed in the book can become campaign fodder.
Imran’s PTI is attempting to discredit Reham Khan through television and online propaganda. But this is mostly serving as free publicity that the PTI might regret later. Imran Khan has survived several slander campaigns. Let’s see if Reham’s book sheds light on any financial wrongdoing.
No one is interested in Reham Khan’s bedroom confessions anymore
Amnah Shah
Head of special projects, PTI
Pakistan is witnessing the most interesting elections in the country’s history. Politics is selling like hot cakes, and media is having a field day. We are at the threshold of change, which has been promised to us for so long.
Newbie Imran Khan struggled to become one of the most popular leaders of Pakistan after being ridiculed and laughed upon for years. He has changed the political landscape, challenged the status quo, and given us hope that oligarchy is not irreplaceable. He is now the PM-in-waiting, and his opponents are resisting this change.
The existing oligarchy doesn’t want a newbie entering their elite club, and they are doing everything to stop him.
In this age of alternate truths, propaganda can do wonders. Anything on social media is taken as a fact, and no one cares to substantiate it as long as it appeals to their cognitive dissonance.
A book by Reham Khan is a perfect example of how alternate truths and hearsay are being used to malign Imran Khan. But Imran has survived worse mud-slinging storms than this. Pakistanis have forgiven him, and this recent attempt wouldn’t harm him. No one is interested in bedroom confessions anymore, and Imran’s personal life doesn’t have a collective impact.
The book doesn’t rattle Imran, nor does it affect his politics. Khan is larger than life, he’s an idea. This low jab won’t hurt him, but it does hurt people who have stood by him through thick and thin.
So this pre-emptive attack on the book is not about him, it’s about protecting his own people, who just got caught in the quest for personal vengeance.
Jemima rescued Imran from disqualification, but Reham’s book can be threat to his career
Muhammad Daim Fazil
Political science lecturer, University of Gujrat Sialkot Campus, Pakistan
Cricketer-turned-politician, Imran Khan, is in hot waters yet again.
He was rescued by first wife Jemima during disqualification case in Supreme Court earlier this year. But second wife Reham Khan is turning out to be a serious annoyance with her upcoming book.
Elections are only weeks away, and Imran cannot afford his secrets to be divulged, and that too by his ex-wife. Imran’s second marriage was hardly a success and rumour mills kept churning as to why Reham opted to part ways with Imran.
Many believed Imran’s ‘raver’ lifestyle was a chief reason for divorce. Some blamed his advisers (Naeemul Haq and Awn Chaudry) for the fiasco. Imran is now tied in a third marriage, and people are already speculating that it won’t last long.
There has been uproar over Reham’s unreleased book on news channels and social media. Pro-PTI fans see her book as a pre-planned tactic to smudge Imran’s character just ahead of the polls. Some have said that this is a personal matter between Imran and Reham.
Imran Khan injected consistency in the 11-men team he captained for over a decade, but miserably failed in following the same principle in his personal and political innings. He doesn’t have a proud record when it comes to personal character and has been repeatedly titled a ‘playboy’ in foreign press.
Politically, well, U-turns are what Imran and his party are known for, and this approach keeps haunting him. The rival parties, PML-N in particular, could bank on Reham’s book to swing public mood in election campaigns.
Imran Khan described his marriage to Reham as “A nightmare on elm street”. She stole his Blackberry mobile phone and tried to black mail him. I don’t think there will be anyone naming their new born baby daughter “Reham”. She still hasn’t gone back to her maiden name of “Reham Nayyar Ramzan” still using the Khan name. What a low life. The stories about Wasim Akram, well….just shows how low this woman really is. I voted for PMLN last time, however this time I will vote for PTI and Imran Khan. Because he is Sadaq and amen.
If you have failed to subdue your political opponent, hit him below the belt !! Reham is doing this for them.
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”, and that too, a woman like Reham Khan, who is full of lies.
Reham describes Imran as a dubious character who is immoral, corrupt and tied to terrorists. She says, he is a puppet on a string dangled by the ISI. She even hints at his drug addiction. If these attributes does not qualify him to be the PM in today’s Pakistan, then what will.
“Critics have accused Reham Khan of being part of a political agenda aimed at maligning Imran Khan and his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ahead of the Pakistan general elections. The book has also attracted a lawsuit from her first husband Wasim Akram.”
I’m pretty sure she was never married to Wasim Akram.