Khawar Maneka, the ex-husband of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi, has revealed alarming details about his divorce and the former premier's third marriage.
While giving an interview to anchorperson Shahzeb Khanzada on Geo News, Maneka said that PTI chairman Imran harmed his marriage with Bushra Bibi under the guise of "peer muridi."
"Our marriage lasted for 28 years. We had a very happy married life, and Imran Khan ruined it under the guise of peer-muridi (a reference to a relationship between a spiritual guide and a follower)," he added.
Bushra Bibi married Imran one and a half months after he divorced her in November 2017, according to Maneka. He claimed, however, that he was ignorant of it. "I and my children were not aware of this marriage. When the media broke the news of the marriage, I denied it."
Khan married Bushra Bibi in January 2018 while she was observing iddat (the time a woman goes into isolation after her husband dies or divorces her), but the wedding photos were released on February 18 in an attempt to hide the marriage from the public eye, according to media reports.
Maneka said Imran would come to his house without his "consent" and that he was upset about his then-wife's contacts with the PTI chief.
Maneka recalled one such visit in which he ordered the PTI chairman out of the house with the help of domestic servants.
Maneka said during the PTI's protest sit-in in Islamabad that the former first lady's sister, Maryam Watto, organized a meeting between the PTI chairman and his now-wife.
Maneka stated that following the initial meeting, the PTI chief and Bushra Bibi began meeting often in Islamabad.
"My mother used to say that Imran Khan is not a good person; don't let him come into the house."
Maneka revealed the couple's relationship specifics, saying his then-wife would speak to Imran overnight surreptitiously on a phone number supplied to her by Farah Gogi at the PTI chief's request.
He stated that he had a home in Islamabad's Bani Gala neighborhood and that Bushra Bibi would visit the PTI chief at his home in the same neighborhood without his permission.
He said that six months before the wedding, Bushra Bibi "separated from me" and went to her residence in Punjab's Pakpattan city, adding that despite his efforts, Bushra Bibi refused to come home.
Maneka said he received a text message one day from Farah Gogi asking him to divorce 'Pinky' (alias Bushra Bibi).
"I went to Bushra and inquired if she wanted a divorce." "She bowed her head and did not respond," he explained.
On November 14, 2017, Maneka stated that he submitted the divorce papers to her then-wife via Farah Gogi.
Later, he stated that Farah Gogi and Zulfi Bukhari, close aides to the PTI chief, instructed him to falsify the divorce date on paperwork and be silent because "Imran Khan wants to become prime minister."