Reham Khan claimed on Monday that her former husband Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan did not fulfil requirements of Article 62 and 63, as he hid their marriage for two months.
Reham has remained at the centre of controversy after the manuscript of her 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.
In an interview to a private television channel, Reham also criticised Imran over the recent nominations of candidates for the caretaker chief minister for Punjab, for which the party has come under fire after it withdrew the name of its proposed candidate Nasir Khosa.
“How can a person run a country if he cannot give a name for the caretaker chief minister”.
The former journalist and author also denied an allegation by PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry of having met Maryam Nawaz – daughter of Imran Khan’s political rival Nawaz Sharif.
"The accusation of receiving money from Shehbaz is incorrect, I never met him or Maryam," she said, threatening to take the accusers to court.
Reham also requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar to take notice of the issue.
"I cannot understand why Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is apprehensive about my book," she said in the interview.
Reham questioned allegations of writing the book on a hidden agenda.
Responding to PTI spokesman Chaudhry's claims on Twitter that "the whole book [written by Reham] is an exercise to demolish only real opposition," she said: "How will my book affect the outcome of elections."
Responding to Reham Khan’s allegation that PTI chairman Imran Khan did not fulfil requirements of Article 62 and 63, party spokesman Fawad Chaudhry asserted that this was not the first time the PML-N had used women during the elections.
Speaking to Geo News, Chaudhry questioned why Reham did not think of writing a book three years earlier and waited for this close to the election. “It is obvious she is working on the agenda given by someone. “
“The party will be upset when the former wife of our leader is used against him”.
This report is factually incorrect and I am saddened that Pakistani media outlets have run it without at least checking with me first. I am not in the business of ghostwriting, nor am I a literary agent, or publisher’s representative. If Imran is having a problem with his wife writing a tell-all book, he should discuss it with her without invoking my name without any basis. I ran into Reham and her son at Harvey Nichols. We had a civil, social conversation like any two Pakistanis running into each other should. It had nothing to do with her book or publishing arrangements. I respect Reham as I respect all current and former members of the journalist fraternity and am appalled by the nastiness of attacks on her. Clearly, some people are panicking about Reham’s forthcoming book and their state of panic and fear about me has been surreal for years. I assure Imran that I have never taken him seriously enough to get involved in the publication of his former wife’s memoirs. He should turn his attention elsewhere.
Pakistan's former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani said in a statement said this report is factually incorrect and I am saddened that Pakistani media outlets have run it without at least checking with me first.
"I am not in the business of ghostwriting, nor am I a literary agent, or publisher’s representative. If Imran is having a problem with his wife writing a tell-all book, he should discuss it with her without invoking my name without any basis," he said.
Haqqani added that he ran into Reham and her son at Harvey Nichols.
"We had a civil, social conversation like any two Pakistanis running into each other should. It had nothing to do with her book or publishing arrangements. I respect Reham as I respect all current and former members of the journalist fraternity and am appalled by the nastiness of attacks on her. Clearly, some people are panicking about Reham’s forthcoming book and their state of panic and fear about me has been surreal for years. I assure Imran that I have never taken him seriously enough to get involved in the publication of his former wife’s memoirs. He should turn his attention elsewhere," he said.