Weeks before Pakistan elections, controversial book by Imran Khan’s ex-wife threatens to take center stage

Reham Khan. (AFP)
Updated 04 June 2018
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Weeks before Pakistan elections, controversial book by Imran Khan’s ex-wife threatens to take center stage

  • Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party supporter Hamza Ali Abbasi slams Khan’s upcoming book about the author’s brief marriage to Imran Khan
  • PTI Central Information Secretary Fawad Chaudhry accuses Khan of meeting with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s leaders, adding fuel to allegations the book was part of a smear campaign against PTI leader Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Twitter is ablaze with fiery exchanges between Hamza Ali Abbasi, an avid supporter of Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, and the ex-wife of Imran Khan, Reham Khan.
It started on Friday when Abbasi tweeted a scathing review of Khan’s yet-to-be-released book — which leaked last week — saying he had the “unfortunate experience” of reading it.
“Had a very unfortunate experience of reading a manuscript of Reham Khans book. Here is the summary: IK is the most evil man to walk the face of this planet. Reham is the most pious righteous (TaHajjud guzaar) woman ever and Shehbaz Sharif is an amazing guy! #RehamOnPMLNAgenda”

Khan, the ex-wife of Imran Khan who was married to him for nine months, wasted no time in responding. The British-Pakistani journalist accused Abbasi of threatening her for close to a year, saying the only way he could have gotten his hands on her manuscript was through fraud or theft. She also released screen shots of what she said were email exchanges between Abbasi and herself.
“Hamza has been emailing me threats since August 2017. Bullies trying to silence me,” she tweeted.

Abbasi denied the emails Khan posted were from him, while Khan (and many of her Twitter followers) pointed out the ones he was posting had spelling errors in the email addresses, fostering claims the documents were doctored.
As the Twitter exchange between the two continued to heat up, neither side appeared to be willing to back down. 
Khan accused Abbasi, an actor, of being upset because he was not cast in her film “Janaan.” 
Abbasi retaliated, mocking her show and threatening to start discussing parts of her book on SAMAA TV on Monday.
“Seriously? LOL hahahahahahaha Hero in Janaan? NA49? Anyhow, the debate you wanted to have right before elections will happen NOW & fizzle out in a few days till you & the pile of lies you call ur book become irrelevant! Will start discussing ur book content from Monday.”

The escalating exchange of words has prompted PTI’s Central Information Secretary Fawad Chaudhry to step in. 
Chaudhry claimed his party had proof that Khan had met with Maryam Nawaz Sharif, a politician and daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, adding fuel to allegations that Khan’s book was part of a smear campaign against Imran Khan, and that she was playing into the hands of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
“We now have solid evidence to prove Reham Khan was meeting @MaryamNSharif through Ahsan Iqbal @betterpakistan so the whole book is an exercise to demolish only real opposition i.e #PTI #RehamOnPMLNAgenda”

Ahsan Iqbal, a member of PML-N, did not take too kindly to being thrown into the discussion either. In a tweet, which was retweeted by Khan herself, he denied claims he was involved in facilitating a meeting between Khan and Nawaz.
“Most shameful PTI resorting to fabricated and distorted emails to defend itself. Neither I ever met Reham Khan except for an interview in Aaj Studio before her marriage with IK nor arranged her meeting with anyone. Pl don’t drag me in matters between ex spouses.”
With only a few weeks left before Pakistan’s elections on July 25, the impact of the inside scoop about the life of PTI leader Imran Khan. through the eyes of his ex-wife in her new book, is undeniable. 
While the Twitter exchange between Khan and Abbasi has slowed down, the latter’s threat that he will be taking his thoughts and selected passages from the book to the airwaves on Monday is expected to garner more media attention on the book.
Meanwhile, Khan says her book will be released in June as planned.


Bolivia and Israel to restore ties severed over the war in Gaza

Updated 5 sec ago
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Bolivia and Israel to restore ties severed over the war in Gaza

  • Paz's government eased visa restrictions on American and Israeli travelers last month
  • The Bolivian foreign ministry said its top diplomat would meet his Israeli counterpart in Washington later Tuesday to discuss the revival of bilateral ties

LA PAZ, Bolivia: Bolivia's new right-wing government said Tuesday that it would restore diplomatic relations with Israel, the latest sign of the dramatic geopolitical realignment underway in the South American country that was once among the most vocal critics of Israeli policies toward Palestinians.
The Bolivian foreign ministry said its top diplomat would meet his Israeli counterpart in Washington later Tuesday to discuss the revival of bilateral ties, which Bolivia's previous left-wing government severed two years ago over Israel's devastating campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
Bolivia said the effort came as part of a new foreign policy strategy under conservative President Rodrigo Paz aimed at “rebuilding Bolivia's international prestige, opening new economic opportunities and strengthening alliances that directly benefit the country and our citizens abroad."
Bolivian Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo is in the midst of a whirlwind trip to Washington for meetings with American officials as his government works to warm long-chilly relations with the United States and unravel nearly two decades of hard-line, anti-Western policies under the Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party that left Bolivia economically isolated and diplomatically allied with China, Russia and Venezuela.
Paz's government eased visa restrictions on American and Israeli travelers last month.
In announcing his expected meeting with Aramayo on Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar thanked Bolivia for scrapping Israeli visa controls and said he spoke to Paz after the center-right senator's Oct. 19 election victory to express “Israel’s desire to open a new chapter” in relations with Bolivia.
Paz entered office last month, ending the dominance of the MAS party founded by Evo Morales, the charismatic former coca-growing union leader who became Bolivia's first Indigenous president in 2006. Not long after taking power, Morales sent Israel's ambassador packing and cozied up to Iran over their shared enmity toward the U.S. and Israel.
When protests over Morales' disputed 2019 reelection prompted him to resign under pressure from the military, a right-wing interim government took over and restored full diplomatic relations with the U.S. and Israel as it sought to undo many of Morales’ popular policies.
But 2020 elections brought the MAS party back to power with the presidency of Luis Arce, who in 2023 once again cut ties with Israel in protest over its military actions in Gaza.
Other left-wing Latin American countries, like Chile and Colombia, soon made similar moves, recalling their ambassadors and joining South Africa’s genocide case against Israel before the United Nations’ highest judicial body.