Imran Khan, his party and his people will always be in the limelight with one controversy or the other. In the most recent, Reham Khan’s ambiguity over her degree in Journalism has prompted a media tirade against the First Lady of the PTI. An article, published by the Dailymail UK has claimed that she never attended North Lindsay College in Lincolnshire and they do not offer a degree in Journalism. Following the hubbub, the name of the institution on her official website was changed to Grimsby Institute, North East Lincolnshire.
PTI is a party that claims to uphold the virtue of honesty and transparency above all. Not only have they been highly critical of politicians caught in fake degree scandals, they have stressed the importance of the education ‘degree’ in more occasions than one. Hence, when the party chief’s own wife is embroiled in such a controversy, it is seen as the epitome of hypocrisy. Surely Reham Khan should’ve foreseen the consequences it would have on her and her family if someone caught wind of a white lie?
Reham Khan is a role model for many women, who admire her tenacity, and her struggle as a single mother who has held her own. Her achievements as a social worker, working for the rights of children, is admirable. However, a more responsible attitude is expected, not just from Reham Khan, but all public figures. Whether it is a corrupt minister being investigated by the NAB, a DJ who has yet to be paid and is yet to pay taxes, the myriad of former corrupt politicians joining the PTI, or absentee MNAs taking salaries - the party has to be more careful about the continual dilution of its oft cited purity.