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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
Updated 04 June 2018
Sabah Bano Malik

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.

Topics: Pakistan Reham Khan Hamza Ali Abbasi Book Imran Khan Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) General Elections international news latest news in english

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Russia and Ukraine trade attacks as US and European officials prepare for peace talks

Updated 14 December 2025
AP
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Russia and Ukraine trade attacks as US and European officials prepare for peace talks

Updated 14 December 2025
AP

Moscow pounded Ukrainian power infrastructure with drone and missile strikes on Saturday and Kyiv launched a deadly strike of its own on southwestern Russia, a day before talks involving senior European and US officials aimed at ending the war were set to resume.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian, US and European officials will hold a series of meetings in Berlin in the coming days, adding that he will personally meet with US President Donald Trump’s envoys.
“Most importantly, I will be meeting with envoys of President Trump, and there will also be meetings with our European partners, with many leaders, concerning the foundation of peace — a political agreement to end the war,” Zelensky said in an address to the nation late Saturday.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are traveling to Berlin for the talks, according to a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
American officials have tried for months to navigate the demands of each side as Trump presses for a swift end to Russia’s war and grows increasingly exasperated by delays. The search for possible compromises has run into major obstacles, including which combatant will get control of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, which is mostly occupied by Russian forces.
“The chance is considerable at this moment, and it matters for our every city, for our every Ukrainian community,” Zelensky said. “We are working to ensure that peace for Ukraine is dignified, and to secure a guarantee — a guarantee, above all — that Russia will not return to Ukraine for a third invasion.”
As diplomats push for peace, the war grinds on.
Russia attacked five Ukrainian regions overnight, targeting the country’s energy and port infrastructure. Zelensky said the attacks involved more than 450 drones and 30 missiles. And with temperatures hovering around freezing, Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said more than a million people were without electricity.
An attack on Odesa caused grain silos to catch fire at the coastal city’s port, Ukrainian deputy prime minister and reconstruction minister Oleksiy Kuleba said. Two people were wounded in attacks on the wider Odesa region, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.
Kyiv and its allies say Russia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water for a fourth consecutive winter, in what Ukrainian officials call “weaponizing” the cold.
The drone attack in Russia’s Saratov region damaged a residential building and killed two people, said the regional governor, Roman Busargin, who didn’t offer further details. Busragin said the attack also shattered windows at a kindergarten and clinic. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 41 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight.
On the front lines, Ukrainian forces said Saturday that the northern part of Pokrovsk was under Ukrainian control, despite Russia’s claims this month that it had taken full control of the critical city. The Associated Press was not able to independently verify the claims.
The latest attacks came after Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov reaffirmed Friday that Moscow will give its blessing to a ceasefire only after Ukraine’s forces have withdrawn from parts of the Donetsk region that they still control.
Ukraine has consistently refused to cede the remaining part of the region to Russia.
Ushakov told the business daily Kommersant that Russian police and national guard troops would stay in parts of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas even if they become a demilitarized zone under a prospective peace plan — a demand likely to be rejected by Ukraine as US-led negotiations drag on.
Ushakov warned that a search for compromise could take a long time, noting that the US proposals that took into account Russian demands had been “worsened” by alterations proposed by Ukraine and its European allies.
“We don’t know what changes they are making, but clearly they aren’t for the better,” Ushakov said, adding: “We will strongly insist on our considerations.”
In other developments, about 480 people were evacuated Saturday from a train traveling between the Polish city of Przemysl and Kyiv after police received a call concerning a threat on the train, Karolina Kowalik, a spokesperson for the Przemysl police, told The Associated Press. Nobody was hurt and she didn’t elaborate on the threat.
Polish authorities are on high alert since multiple attempts to disrupt trains on the line linking Warsaw to the Ukrainian border, including the use of explosives in November, with Polish authorities saying they have evidence Russia was behind it.

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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