NEW DELHI: Reham Khan, the former wife of Pakistani cricketer turned hardline politician Imran Khan, claims that he had told her that he had five illegitimate children, some of them Indian.
In a book that has taken Pakistan by storm just before the elections, Reham alleges that not only is the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief and Prime Ministerial contender a wife beater and a brazen womanizer, he was also a regular drug abuser, and had a live in gay relationship with a married man.
The book, titled ‘Reham Khan’ exposes not just Khan, but also the dark underbelly of Pakistani politics, and has led to death threats and legal action by several people including her first husband Ijaz Rehman and former cricketer Wasim Akram, who she alleges liked to watch his wife have sex with another man.
According to her, Imran used a mouth guard to stop his teeth from clenching due to the effects of cocaine, which he used regularly, along with heroin, and all sorts of tranquillisers, including benzodiazepines like Xanax and Lexotanil and also the banned Rohypnol, also known as the ‘date rape’ drug.
Though the former BBC journalist insists that the book “is all about my life...the struggles and how I overcame it,” the fact that it was released weeks before the general election slated for July 25 has led to speculation that it was aimed at derailing her former husband’s political career.
Soon after she married him in January 2015, Imran reportedly spoke about Tyrian White, his illegitimate daughter with American heiress Sita White. According to the book:
“You know she isn’t the only one I have". He grinned mischievously. There are 5 in total, that I know of”.
“Five what?!" I gasped.
"Kids," he laughed.
"What? You have five illegitimate children! How do you know?” I asked.
“Well, the mothers told me,” he said.
“All White’s?”
“No, some are Indians. The eldest is 34 now.”
“How Imran? Why did the mother not come out with it?”
“Because she was over the moon! She had been married for ages and couldn’t get pregnant. She was overjoyed, promised to keep it a secret, and begged to keep it. So I said OK.”
“And the rest? Why did they never speak?” I fired at him. There were so many questions in my head.
“Well, because they were all married and they didn’t want their marriages to be destroyed,” he said.
“Does anyone else know?” I asked, still reeling.
“Only Jemima does. I told her,” he replied nonchalantly.
Jemima, the daughter of British financier James Goldsmith, had been married to Imran for almost nine years before she left him citing her inability to adapt to life in Pakistan.
Last month, Reham, who separated from Khan after 10 months of marriage in October 2015, had declared that her former husband was not 'sadiq and amin' (honest and righteous) in accordance with article 62 and 63 of the Pakistani Constitutional provisions, since he hid his third marriage (to faith healer Bushra Maneka) for two months, and urged the Pakistani Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of the matter.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified as prime minister in the Panama Papers case by the Supreme Court under the same provision. Will they be applied against the politician who is said to be endorsed by the Pakistani Army? Only time will tell.