Wedding bells

The bells, at least metaphorically, have rung for Imran Khan and his new wife, Reham Khan. Although the wedding ceremony was a quiet, private affair, the enormous levels of public interest in the wedding make this event, the rituals of which were completed quietly at Imran Khan’s Bani Gala house in Islamabad, the closest thing Pakistan has seen to a royal marriage. Media interest has been enormous and certainly, there has been nothing low-key about the coming together of the couple. Imran Khan, as a cricketer, a philanthropist and then a politician, has lived essentially in the public eye for more than 40 years. It is, therefore, no surprise that his marriage should have attracted so much interest and excitement.

We, of course, wish the couple every happiness as they begin a new life together. They also deserve the right to some privacy as they set up what will be an altered life for both. In this context, some of the comment directed their way, notably over social media, has been highly unfortunate. The mainstream media, too, has sometimes crossed the line of propriety. Both Imran Khan and Reham Khan, but most openly the latter, have been subjected to an ugly, uncalled-for character assassination from certain quarters. No one should have to undergo this. In many ways, the words used and the trivial matters picked up reflect the nature of our society and the constant attempts within it to drag people down. The best advice to the couple would be to ignore this entirely. They certainly have the confidence and grace it takes to do this. As a couple, they deserve a happy future together, and as a nation, we need to put all else aside and wish them well as they set out on what we hope will be a long and prosperous journey. This is what both deserve and what anyone looking on from the outside would wish for them regardless of any political differences or other reservations that may exist. A choice has been made; it needs to be respected.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10^th,  2015.

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