Was the media right to report on Imran Khan’s third marriage?

Imran Khan has lived with controversies—much before he entered politics in the late 90s. As a politician controversies followed him again, controversies which had more to do with his private than public life.

At times he enjoyed controversy. But in this particular case about his third marriage he was not only disturbed but disappointed too with the media, because the news came when he was with his two sons in London. The question is: how one should discuss a celebrity’s private life?

Who knows better about Imran Khan than his first wife Jemima Goldsmith who had even embraced Islam out of love for him. Their two sons have grown up and still have confidence in their father despite one controversy after another.

A wedding photo of Imran Khan and Jemima KhanFor Imran Khan controversies linked to his private life are nothing new. He grew up with the reputation of the world’s most glamorous cricketer. And his love affairs with celebrities around the world were regular news items.

At the same time, he also became a famous philanthropist by building the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Caner Hospital. His charismatic personality reached a new height when Pakistan won the World Cup in 1992. Even his victory speech generated controversy when for one reason or the other he ignored mentioning his teammates. Later, he himself regretted it.

Over the years, it became part of his personality. During his cricket days, he was described as the most “glamorous bachelor”. His first marriage to charismatic Jamima Goldsmith was termed “wedding of the year”.

He himself married TV anchor Reham Khan that became a matter of public debate and also let public know about his divorce. Thus, when about a week back, he hinted at getting married again, it hit the “headlines”.

But, where the media went wrong were speculations without verification and no attribution. In such stories where someone’s privacy could be affected, it’s most important to have authentic and multiple sources, even if there is no direct attribution. The media also needs to give people the right to reply.

So, the first question is whether Imran Khan himself wanted the world to know about his plan or intention to get married again. If not, he should have avoided questions about his private life.

In Reham’s case, he made the announcement during a protest “dharna”. The timing of his second marriage became a matter of controversy against the backdrop of the APS incident. Similarly, Imran and his spokesman Naeemul Haq surprised many when they made the divorce to Reham public, followed by Reham’s disclosure.

There are many stories about politicians’ private life that the media avoids reporting despite having authentic knowledge, including secret weddings. The private of all politician’s is not of public interest. Imran Khan is different.

Yes, ethics do matter in reporting or discussing the private life of a public servant and there are certain ethical guidelines as well in such reporting. Since we do not have a strong defamation law, the media often does such reporting.

Last year, a woman created quite a stir when she tried to portray herself as someone close to former president Asif Ali Zardari. Several television channels interviewed her and she become a star overnight and then disappeared.

All kinds of stories were also circulated about model Ayyan Ali and her alleged relations with some politicians. The media all over the world follows leaders’ private life, particularly if he is someone like glamorous Imran Khan.

The West has different standards and people are very strict about the character of their public representatives. A scandal related to a love affair, a politician found drunk in public, or a story about tax evasion my ruin the political career of a leader. Here, the situation is somewhat different. 

It has often been argued that politicians’ private life is important because he or she call themselves public servants and are supposed to lead from the front. But, at times, the media crossed certain “red lines” that could even be fatal as happened in the case of Lady Diana when the media was blamed for her death in a road accident.

In the latest Imran Khan controversy, there was hardly any attribution or confirmation from multiple sources that he is getting married to a particular woman. Therefore, after a contradiction from Imran Khan and his family as well as the family whose daughter had been named, the media should have regretted unless any journalist had any evidence to prove his story like Mr Arif Nizami who upheld his news about Reham Khan and proved the PTI and Imran Khan wrong.

So, if a journalist or the media is cheerful while giving any “exclusive”, it is equally important that it should also regret if their story bounces back. Unfortunately, we do not have any culture of regret or apology in the electronic media.

Now, why is it important for people to know about the private and public life of their representatives? It is in the interest of people to know whether their representatives are honest, pay income tax regularly, take special privileges and keep high moral standards. 

However, the media has to be very careful while reporting weddings and deaths particularly if it is about well-known celebrities or public representatives. In both cases, some attribution or multiple sources could make the story more authentic. One cannot misreport about someone’s death without confirmation as it could cause trauma for the family as happened in the case of a lady MPA of the Punjab Assembly few months back. A section of the media reported that she had died in the ICU, but she survived.

There are two clear opinions over reporting the private life of a public figure: (1) breach of privacy of a celebrity’s life, and (2) politicians are public servants and people have the right to know about the conduct of public figures, particularly those who are supposed to lead the nation.

A wedding photo of Imran Khan and Reham KhanImran Khan has never hidden his past, present and even the future unlike others. The fresh controversy about him arose after his interview. Since the case of Reham Khan, from IK to PTI leaders had all denied the news and even launched a campaign against Arif Nizami, before he got married to her and confirmed the news. The media speculations continued despite categorical denials. 

But the media guidelines are simple in such cases. Avoid speculations about the wedding or death of a person as it could put you in an embarrassing position. Even in the case of Imran Khan’s sister Uzma Khan vs Maryam Nawaz, the media should have taken the version of the other party after the accusation. Instead, they even misreported about Faryal Talpur’s protocol in the same story. It took almost several hours before Uzma herself said sorry to Maryam. The media should have also regretted.

In journalism, it is often said, “If in doubt, cut it out.” But if you have an authentic story, a journalist must fight it out and defend his or her position. Here, the controversy triggered after Imran Khan’s disclosure, but the rest remained mere speculations and that too without any verification and attribution.

The writer is a senior columnist and analyst of the Geo News, The News and daily Jang.