Imran Khan’s ex-wife is clearly in no mood to show reham (mercy). As part of a clever marketing strategy, salacious passages targeting Pakistan’s elite have conveniently been ‘leaked’ ahead of the launch of her upcoming book. In a move signifying that she is ready for battle, Reham has viciously targeted Imran’s first wife Jemima Goldsmith, her first husband Ijaz Rehman, retired all-rounder Wasim Akram, British businessman Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari and Anila Khawaja, the media coordinator of Imran's political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. As an attention-grabbing ploy, the book has been named after its author. Talk about supreme self-confidence!
Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt is of the opinion that, how truthful an author is while writing an autobiography is solely up to them. “There is always the dilemma of what to put in and what to leave out. I believe that it is a personal choice. You own the incidents in your life just as much as the other person does, and you have the right to write about them. But you have no right to talk about people and incidents that are not a part of your life, because that is salacious rumour-mongering. I don’t know how much of the book is about her life and how much is about others. But if something did not have an impact on her life, then writing about it is immoral. I am sure it is illegal as well,” he says.
For those unfamiliar with the characters in this saga, Reham is a 45-year-old journalist and film producer is of British-Pakistani descent. When she met and married Imran in 2015, she was a twice-divorced mother-of-three, who went on to become the Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician's second wife. But the marriage ended as quickly as it began and Reham ended up being dumped unceremoniously just ten months into their marriage. Clearly, she is a woman scorned and deeply insulted.
And she seems to be doing her best to humiliate her ex-husband and cause him acute political embarrassment. You know what they say, there's no greater force in the world than a woman bitter with rage.
“I don’t think it's about revenge. She has always been thirsty for fame. Now, with this book, she will also acquire notoriety,” says Bengaluru-based social influencer Ila Naidu. When you have the power of the pen, the temptation to write a personal account is irresistible. And Reham has decided to capitalize on her journalistic skills to narrate a saga that will certainly create ripples with revelations that are open to speculation.
Delhi-based literary agent Kanishka Gupta says, “It’s hard to say what’s true, since this is not a report, but a supposed recounting of personal experiences. In such cases, it inevitably comes down to your word against mine. There is absolutely no way of finding out. In my experience, it is always tricky writing about living public figures, let alone writing damaging things. One way to do that is to hide their real names and use fictional elements.
The libelous tell-all book reveals that Imran, in keeping with his colourful personality, cheated on her by getting involved with Bushra Wattoo, a spiritual leader and his current wife. If this doesn’t sound like a scene from the Bold and Beautiful,there’s more. Reham has not spared the dignified Jemima, whom the cricketer was married to for nine years, either.
An angry Jemima tweeted on Thursday, “On Reham Khan’s book I’ve been assured that it’s too libellous to be published in the UK but if it is published here, I will be suing for defamation & breach of privacy on behalf of my (then) 16 yr old son & in relation to the moronic, re-hashed Zionist conspiracy theories. Sigh. (sic)”
So intent is she on destroying the reputation of the man she was once married to, that Reham has not spared his close friends either. Imran’s buddy and former Pakistani cricket captain Wasim Akram has already sent her a legal notice for making malicious claims about his late wife, Huma.
Most publishers, though, are accustomed to such notices. “Notices are a form of intimidation and the affected parties rarely follow up on them. Negative publicity is, possibly, the best form of publicity. It has turned many books into bestsellers. Reham’s book, however, has become a political issue and I am fairly certain that there will be a trial if the book is released,” Kanishka adds.
Does Reham care? Going by her tweets, she is beyond redemption. She says, “You forget when you threaten me that I learnt from the murders of Zahra Shahid & Qandeel Baloch. Rest assured my story will reach everyone whether I am alive or not. (sic)”
