Imran Khan seeks divorce after just 10 months

ISLAMABAD • Pakistani opposition leader and former playboy cricketer Imran Khan is headed for a second divorce, ending his marriage to a television journalist just 10 months after the wedding.

Mr Khan, 62, married 42-year- old Reham Khan, a former BBC weather host and divorced mother of three, in January in a simple ceremony at his Islamabad home.

"We have decided to part ways and file for divorce," Ms Khan said in a brief statement yesterday on her Twitter account.

Mr Khan took to Twitter to express his "greatest respect for Ms Reham's moral character and her passion to work for and help the underprivileged". He added: "This is a painful time for me and Reham and our families. I would request everyone to respect our privacy."

Mr Khan is loved by millions across the cricket-obsessed nation for winning its only World Cup, back in 1992. His sports prowess and good looks also brought him international celebrity.

He was considered Pakistan's most eligible man until he announced plans for his second marriage, shortly after launching a movement to topple the government in August last year. He called off the protest in December after a Taleban attack on a school that killed 150 people.

Ms Khan was criticised on social media by conservative Muslim Pakistanis after her marriage to Mr Khan became public and pictures and videos surfaced of her on-screen in Western outfits.

Mr Khan has two sons from his previous marriage to British socialite Jemima Goldsmith.

They divorced in 2004, allegedly because of difficulties Ms Goldsmith faced in Pakistan, where she was hounded over her family's Jewish ancestry, and because of his obsession with politics.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 31, 2015, with the headline Imran Khan seeks divorce after just 10 months. Subscribe