London: Jemima Khan, Imran Khan's first wife who was divorced from her husband in 2004 after nine years of marriage and two sons, was quick to tweet her congratulations.
"Happy Election Day Pakistan, you maddening, beautiful, crazy, beloved old friend," she began at the onset of the polls. "Here's hoping the people who count your votes, let your vote count. And you get the leader you believe in. Pakistan Zindabad!"
"22 years later, after humiliations, hurdles and sacrifices, my sons' father is Pakistan's next PM. It's an incredible lesson in tenacity, belief & refusal to accept defeat," she added later. "The challenge now is to remember why he entered politics in the 1st place. Congratulations @ImranKhanPTI."
Jemima has stuck by him in public over the years and even picketed for his release when he was briefly jailed by President Pervez Musharraf in 2007.
Jemima certainly has some admirers among Pakistanis, one of whom said: "Thank you for standing with him in his hard times, Jemima, Pakistanis won't forget your help & struggle too. God Bless you." Several expressed sentiments along the lines of: "I wish Jemima Khan Could be our 1st lady."
Imran's second wife, Reham Khan, offers a quite different view of the Imran-Jemina relationship in her just published book but her voice is not being heard for the time being. Whether Imran wants it or not, Jemina will probably insist on being an unofficial spokesman for Pakistan in general and Imran in particular.
Imran has retained cordial relations with her younger brother Zac Goldsmith, 43, and campaigned for him - though in a half-hearted manner - when he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of London in 2016.
Zac is now co-chairman of Conservative Friends of India, while his sister continues to root for Pakistan.
BBC goof-up
The BBC, which mistakenly used footage of Rishi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan on News at Ten when reporting Shashi Kapoor's death in December last year, has now offered an apology for showing left-arm fast bowler Wasim Akram when reporting the rise of Imran on Newnight on Wednesday.
At the end of the programme, presenter Evan Davis said: "We made a mistake in our opening tonight. The footage we showed was of the cricketer Wasim Akram not Imran Khan. Don't know how that happened, sincere apologies for that."
