Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has confirmed its chairman Imran Khan's third marriage to Bushra Maneka.
Sharing pictures of the 65-year-old politician with his veiled wife and several others, including PTI leaders Awn Chaudhry and Zulfi Bukhari, the party tweeted: "Congratulation to Chairman @ImranKhanPTI on his marriage, we wish a happy and prosperous life ahead to Imran Khan and his wife."
The party said that the ceremony was solemnised in Lahore on Sunday by Mufti Saeed.
Party spokeperson Fawad Chaudhry wished the couple a happy married life.
Earlier this year, media was abuzz with reports of the PTI chief tying the knot for a third time with the lady he used to visit for spiritual guidance.
In a move to defend himself over the marriage controversy, the cricketer-turned-politician had tweeted, "For 3 days I have been wondering have I looted a bank; or money laundered bns in nation's wealth; or ordered a model-town-like killing spree; or revealed state secrets to India? I have done none of these but discovered I have committed a bigger crime: wanting to get married."
Khan first married Jemima Goldsmith, a British socialite, in 1995 — a marriage that lasted nine years. Khan and Jemima have two sons, Sulaiman and Qasim, who are living with their mother in London.
Khan’s second marriage with Reham Khan, a TV anchor, lasted only 10 months.
Maneka is in her late 40s and has five children from her first marriage. She is a resident of Pakpatan district, some 250 km from Lahore, which is known for the shrine of Baba Farid Ganj Shakar.
According to a source, Khan had started visiting her over a year ago to seek spiritual advice. “He got closer to her when some of political predictions she made about his party came true. Later, both developed some ‘intimacy’ and finally Bushra took divorce from her husband and contracted marriage with Imran early last month,” the source said.
Khan, who captained the Pakistan team when it won the Cricket World Cup in 1992, wed Bushra Watto in a low-key ceremony in the eastern city of Lahore, reports Reuters.
Khan has previously referred to Watto, a mother of five, as his ‘spiritual adviser’ and someone whose guidance he valued, the agency added.
(With agency inputs)
