Pakistani cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan married for the third time on Monday. The bride is a newly-divorced faith healer in her 40s with five children.
The 65-year-old’s new wife, Bushra Wattoo, hails from a deeply conservative family with influential political ties and she had been the faith healer of the politician for a couple of years, according to reports.
Imran’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), initially denied the news and later confirmed it. According to Pakistani daily The News, the global publicity to the news shocked Imran, his party and Bushra’s family who were completely unaware of the sudden revelation. Only about eight close friends of the couple knew about the impending marriage, according to the paper. Imran is trying to investigate how the closely-guarded secret leaked to the press.
A source said that Imran wanted to keep the secret for an indefinite time period and had no plans of revealing till after August 2018. Pakistan’s election is due on July 15.
According to his party sources, “He got closer to her when some political predictions she made about his party came true. Later, both developed some intimacy and finally Bushra divorced her husband and married Imran early last month.” She was earlier married to Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) officer Khawar Fareed Maneka.
A Pakistani astrologer has predicted that a third marriage would boost his political career, according to another report from Lahore. Imran who is said to be very superstitious is tipped to be the next prime minister of the nation and according to some papers he behaves like a prime minister-in-waiting.
Imran who captained his country 48 times is one of the most successful all-rounders in cricket history. A member of Pakistan’s National Assembly and a leading opposition voice in the country, Oxford-educated Imran had a reputation as something of a playboy.
He married his first wife, the British journalist and heiress Jemima Goldsmith who was 21 years younger than him, in 1995. The pair were tabloid fodder in Pakistan and England, and eventually divorced in 2004. Jemima was just 21 years old when she met the 42-year-old Imran. She was a close friend of late Lady Diana.
During their marriage she was subjected to abuse by Imran’s political opponents or those who disagreed with his involvement in politics. Imran said in 2011 he had realised his ex-wife may have been too young and inexperienced to cope with the challenges of his political career. She is also partly Jewish. Having converted to Islam, she followed her new husband to Lahore, Pakistan, where she learned to speak Urdu.
His second marriage to the British-Pakistani journalist Reham Khan, was a short-lived affair. The pair married in January 2015, only to divorce in October the same year. The host of a local TV talk show and a BBC weather segment, Reham was widely criticised after appearing at public meetings of PTI, with opponents accusing her of seeking to boost her own profile through her husband’s fame.
Speaking to Daily Mail yesterday Reham said Imran had an extra-marital affair while he was married to her and says Bushra was the main cause of their divorce.
A striking feature among all of the three women is they look very similar in appearance and facial features.
Imran has gained in popularity by standing on an anti-corruption platform, championing judicial proceedings that led to the ousting of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2017.
His political rivals in Pakistani ridiculed Khan’s latest marriage. A disheartened fan said: “Imran has now made a record of hat-trick in marriages although we expected him to make a hat-trick in politics.” The nuptials ended rumours that had been swirling for months about Khan considering a third marriage.
The first Pakistani cricketer to wish Imran is Shahid Afridi, known as ’Boom Boom Afridi’ for his explosive batting style. He tweeted: “Congratulations on your wedding @ImranKhanPTI, Best wishes for you and Bhabbi, May Allah bless you both and give you happiness.”
