Marriage is a private issue but personal matters of public figures are discussed in the media all over the world. However, Imran’s wedding was blown out of proportion. Channels accused him of undermining his own movement against the government over the Panama Leaks. Some experts castigated him for tying the knot on the day when Pakistan was mourning the death of its biggest charity worker, Abdul Sattar Edhi. His marriage remained the topic of discussion on all channels despite denials by Imran Khan and other party leaders.
The media speculated about two women who belonged to Pakpattan. It forced a woman’s family to issue a clarification. “Imran Khan has not married in the Manika family,” Khawar Fareed Manika, son of former Federal Minister Ghulam Muhammad Manika, said in a statement. According to the media, Maryam Manika is the sister of Bushra Manika, who is daughter-in-law of Ghulam Muhammad Manika.
When channels continued flashing pictures of women, Imran slammed media outlets for spreading news about his third marriage and sharing pictures of women he “has never met”. “Women’s pictures shown whom I neither know nor ever met. Such disinformation is irresponsible and shows a collapse of moral and ethical standards,” Imran Khan said on Twitter. “Unethical of media to spread false news of my marriage based upon absolute lies. Had that happened in UK heads would have rolled,” he added.
Media reports said Imran had visited Pakpattan thrice in July to meet his would-be bride, Maryam, who is sister of his “spiritual guide.” After it, the PTI media wing clarified that he was spiritually connected to the Manika family of Pakpattan and nothing else. When the statement failed to quell the rumours, Imran issued a clarification through Twitter saying, “Rumours about my marriage are absolutely baseless. I have not gotten married. When I do, I will announce and celebrate publicly.” It failed to impress his critics, who said he had secretly married twice and this time too.
There may be many elements behind the speculations, but Imran himself played some part in it when in an interview to the Hindustan Times, he said, “It is not in my blood to give up,” to a query about his marriage. The report said even after two divorces, Imran Khan will not give up the idea of marrying again and is actually thinking about it even more these days. “It’s not in my blood to give up. But it takes a lot … (the idea of marriage) is even more open than before. But marrying at 60 is not like marrying at 30,” Imran said in the interview, which was also reproduced in the Pakistani media, after which speculations started.
“Bachelor life is a superficial existence. I would always choose married life. Because bachelor life is: all that glitters is not gold. It is very shallow and empty. It is a superficial existence. You cause a lot of pain. As a bachelor there were a lot of heartaches, and I regret that. I am 63 years old and have been married for only 10 years, but I am more of a staunch believer of marriage now after two divorces than I ever was,” he added. The lengthy interview was analyzed from all angles on Pakistani channels and speculations started about his would-be wife. Some claimed he had already tied the knot and would make it public later. The channels also refused to accept his clarification on the grounds that he had denied his marriage with Reham Khan till the end.
The PTI had to file a complaint with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) against TV channels when they continued airing the news about his third marriage. Imran may recover from the malicious propaganda soon but the women and their families, whose pictures were flashed with him, will feel embarrassment for a long time.
According to sources, the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Media Cell had spread rumours of the third marriage of Imran Khan to divert the attention of the people from the Panama Leaks and malign him. It is alleged the story was set up at the Social Media Cell of the PML-N at the Prime Minister’s House, led by Maryam Nawaz Sharif. Some analysts of news channels were hired to launch a smear campaign against Imran to defame him and make him controversial ahead of his possible agitation against the Nawaz Sharif government. According to sources, services of some TV channels, editors of English-language and Urdu dailies were hired for spreading rumours about his marriage. Questions were also raised on his morality, without realizing that there is nothing immoral in marriage.
PTI Secretary General Jahangir Khan Tareen in his tweet confirmed the smear campaign by some sections of the media against Imran Khan looked like the government’s hidden ploy to divert attention from the Panama Leaks.
Imran’s first two marriages and splits were flashed by the media all over the world. However, the foreign media has always been careful and responsible about its reporting. The Pakistani media has crossed all limits of decency and respect for public privacy. Pictures of different women were carried by the media, in a bid to take the lead from others. The campaign has not done much harm to Imran and his politics, but the women and their families will remain disturbed for long. If it had happened in a civilized country, the media would have faced many defamation suits for millions of dollars. In Pakistan, the channels can defame anybody at their will. They will get away with it too. They will apologize to Imran, at most, on the orders of PEMRA. The women they named will not be compensated. They should at least tender an apology to them.
In a tribal society like Pakistan, where “honour” killings are common, women should be treated more respectfully and the government should make laws to protect their rights and privacy. Defamation laws should also be made more effective to stop the media from launching smear campaigns against their targets.
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