Pakistan cricket legend Imran Khan divorces wife of 10 months

Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and wife Reham Khan have divorced with mutual consent after 10 months of marriage, an official said on Friday.

Six months in, rumours that the marriage was falling apart began to circulate, Dawn online reported.

Pakistani opposition leader Imran Khan (L) and new wife Reham Khan pose for a photograph during their wedding ceremony at his house in Islamabad. Imran ended his 10-month controversial marriage with a TV journalist after weeks of speculation that the couple had separated. Imran, 62, married 41-year-old Reham, previously a BBC weather host and a divorced mother of three in January this year in a simple ceremony at his Islamabad home. Pic/AFP

While the couple was seen together on occasion, Imran Khan, 62, last month tweeted an apparent refutation of the rumours: "I am shocked at a TV channel making slanderous statement about my marriage. I strongly urge the media to desist from such baseless statements."

In a series of tweets, Imran Khan wrote that the divorce is painful for him, Reham, 42, and their respective families and requested everyone to respect their privacy.

The PTI chairman and television journalist Reham Khan had tied the knot in a simple nikkah ceremony which took place in January this year at his private residence.

A source close to the PTI chairman, said the two were "just not getting along."

"She wanted to get involved with politics and that is not what Khan wanted at all. She just did not want to sit at home," he said.

"There were teething problems as well over other issues which were being resolved but this was a major issue - she wanted to get into politics and was not ready to back down."

Sources said Reham has left Pakistan for London and is expected to address a conference there.

"We have decided to part ways and file for divorce," she tweeted.