Financial deal to keep Reham quiet in the air

LONDON: Reham Khan cancelled her appearance at the media conference here on Friday night after holding “crisis talks” with one of the main characters of the dharna movement who is also a close aide of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.
Geo News exclusively revealed that millionaire businessman Zulfi Bukhari – whose full name is Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari - had met Reham Khan at a hotel near Knightsbridge for over three hours and then they left in a Bentley driven by Zulfi.
Reham Khan reached Birmingham airport on Thursday evening where she was received by a group of PTI officials. She was driven to London and it was announced that she would be a keynote speaker at the conference but the plan was scrapped after an “important message” was passed to Reham Khan by Zulfi Bukhari on behalf of Imran Khan late on Thursday evening.
Nearly three hundred guests – and dozens of media representatives – gathered at the Porchester Hall to hear Reham Khan speak as per the schedule but she cancelled her appearance at the last minute, causing embarrassment to the hosts of the event. Organisers of the event blamed Zulfi Bukhari for convincing Reham to stay away from the event.
Zulfi Bukhari had tried to enter the hotel through a side door but as the fire alarm went off at the last minute he was left with no option but to use the front gate where he was filmed by Geo News as well as two other British television cameras. Reham Khan was accompanied by her children Sahir, Ridha and Inaya when she left the hotel with Zulfi Bukhari.
When this correspondent tried to speak to Reham Khan, she politely refused and made her way to the chauffer driven car.
But who is Zulfi Bukhari who wields so much influence and access to Imran Khan – and even Reham Khan? This correspondent is aware that British national Zulfi Bukhari has organised many fundraisers for Imran Khan in London with a number of high profile businessmen and has contributed millions towards Imran Khan’s projects. The other businessman who has contributed heavily is British national Aneel Musarrat from Manchester.
A credible source within PTI told this correspondent that Zulfi Bukhari sent a lot of money to Imran Khan during the dharna protest and was once seen at the container with Imran Khan. He has been pictured at various London locations with Imran khan and his sons Qasim and Suleiman. He once arranged a fundraiser for Imran Khan where top Indian businessmen were also present and donated.
An investigation by The News has established that Zulfi Bukhari hails from an influential political family who is now linked closely with Imran Khan’s PTI. He owns HPM developments, one of the biggest property companies in London. He is the son of former federal environment minister and PTI’s core committee member Syed Wajid Bukhari. His uncle Ijaz Bukhari is PTI’s MPA in the Punjab Assembly. Zulfi Bukhari’s company is estimated at millions of pounds and he is known for enjoying a luxurious lifestyle, flying in private jets and hiring yachts for holidays.
A PTI source said that Zulfi Bukhari’s role in the upcoming negotiations between Reham and Imran could be highly critical and important.
“There is going to be a financial settlement and everyone knows that. It will be a big settlement and Zulfi Bukhari has the money and contacts and he’s loyal to Imran Khan. He will arrange the payment in London or for that matter anywhere else. That’s why he has been given a mission to ensure that Reham Khan doesn’t say or do anything which could cause immediate or long term damage to Imran Khan.”
But Zulfi Bukhari is known for another reason also. It can be revealed that he was part of the infamous London Plan which was aimed at de-seating the PML-N government through a series of sit-in protests which were initiated last year and ended after the APS attacks and then Imran Khan and Reham got married 10 months ago.
‘The News’ has confirmation that Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri had met secretly at the palatial office of Zulfi Bukhari to enter into an alliance to deseat Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government.
At least three other meetings were also held at the same place where several key characters of the dharna were present and they were facilitated by Zulfi Bukhari. The News understands that Zulfikar Bukhari paid for all the expenditure of these meetings.
When initially his role in the dharna plan came into public light and he was filmed outside his office, he issued a legal notice but didn’t take any further action.
When The News contacted him to ask what his role was in the divorce settlement matter between Imran Khan and Reham Khan, he said: “I will speak to you through my lawyers soon.”