Pakistan's Imran Khan ties the knot for third time

Pakistan’s flamboyant cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has married Bushra Maneka, a respected Pir [faith healer] in Pakpattan, in "a simple ceremony" in Lahore.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Spokesperson Fawad Chaudhary confirmed the party chief’s third marriage on Sunday and said that the ceremony was held at the residence of Bushra's brother.

PTI leader Inamul Haq told DawnNews that only close relatives, including the bride's mother, and friends participated in the ceremony — Khan's sisters, however, were not in attendance.

Mufti Saeed performed the nikah in the presence of Awn Chaudhary and Zulfi Bukhari who appeared as witnesses, said PTI members.

The marriage ceremony was a low-profile one as per the desire of Imran Khan, Haq added. He expressed hope that Imran Khan's marriage would prove blessed not only for him and his wife, but for the entire nation.

Leaders of PTI, including Naeemul Haque, Shireen Mazari, Jahangir Tareen, and Shah Mehmood Qureshi, congratulated Khan and his new wife on their marriage on Twitter.

In her 40s, Bushra Maneka belongs to the Wattoo clan, of which the Manekas are a sub-clan.

Earlier, she was married to Khawar Farid Maneka, a senior customs official in Islamabad but parted ways in recent times.

The PTI chief has been married twice before. His first marriage was with Jemima Goldsmith, daughter of a British billionaire in 1995. The couple divorced in 2004.

Khan's second marriage to Reham Khan dissolved 10 months after a public ceremony had taken place in January, 2015.