Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Islamabad: A servant of Khawar Farid Maneka, the ex-husband of Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi, has claimed that the former prime minister used to visit the latter's house and they had an 'illicit relationship'.
Muhammad Latif, an employee of Maneka, disclosed the details during the proceedings of a case related to the alleged unlawful marriage of Khan and Bibi, the Express Tribune newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The case was presented in the court of Civil Judge Qudratullah, who has to determine its admissibility.
Latif, in his statement, said that the 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician used to come to Bushra Bibi's house and both used to go to a room together. 'Maneka used to ask me to go to the room and keep an eye on them but both used to abuse me and ask me to go out when I used to visit the room,” he claimed.
When questioned by the judge, Latif clarified that neither Khan nor Bibi permitted him to stay in the room with them, insisting that they would ask him to leave. The witness also claimed that Khan and Bibi had an illicit relationship.
The court called for arguments regarding the admissibility of the case at the next hearing scheduled for December 8.
The controversy surrounding Khan's marriage escalated when Maneka, in an interview with a private news channel, said that Khan and Bibi had married during iddat – a waiting period that a Muslim woman must observe on account of the death of her husband or dissolution of the marriage.
Maneka accused Khan of interfering in his family affairs, attempting to establish a relationship in the name of Piri-Muridi (spiritual relationship) with Bibi.
However, Khan, in his first media interaction since being imprisoned, denied the allegations on Monday, swearing on the Holy Quran that he saw the latter’s face only on the day of his nikkah (Islamic marriage).
Khan, the former chairman of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party dismissed accusations against him, labelling the claims that he ruined the married life of Maneka as “immoral and unprecedented”.
During an earlier hearing of the case, Mufti Saeed, the person who solemnised the marriage, and witness Aun Chaudhry in their statements had declared that the wedding was not according to Shariah and was illegal.
In 2015, Chaudhry said that Khan divorced Reham Khan at the request of Bushra and Reham was abroad at that time. “Imran Khan divorced Reham Khan through email.” Chaudhry said that Khan was very worried about his marital relations those days, adding that he often said to take him to Bibi to get “spiritual solace”.
“I used to take him to Bushra Bibi and sometimes the PTI chairman would go by himself,” he further said, according to the newspaper.
Khan has been facing a slew of cases since his ouster from power in April last year. He is currently incarcerated in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.