Imran and Jemima to go public on marriage

Intense speculation was growing about the marriage of Imran Khan and Jemima Goldsmith.

Friends of the couple said they were set to make a statement about the future of their marriage - and it could come as soon as later today.

The couple, who have been married for more than 10 years, have been at the centre of increasing concern over the state of their relationship for more than a year.

Jemima has moved from their home in Pakistan back to London, where their two sons have started school. Khan, who is pursuing a career in politics has declared that he would continue to live in his native Pakistan.

Both Jemima, 30, and Khan, 51, have always insisted there was nothing wrong in living in two different countries.

But after months of growing concern, sources close to the couple said today they felt it was time to go public about the state of their marriage. One said: "It was always going to be difficult, not only the distance between them, but the gap in age as well as the differences culturally."

Jemima, daughter of the late billionaire Sir James Goldsmith, and the former international Test cricket captain, married in 1995 - first in Paris then in an Islamic ceremony in Lahore. She converted to Islam and brought up their sons as Muslims.

Despite the pressures Jemima and Khan stayed together, although last December she released a statement to the Pakistani newspapers denying their marriage was in trouble. She said: "I am currently studying for a Masters degree at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. It is certainly not true to say that Imran and I are having difficulties in our marriage.

"This is a temporary arrangement and Inshallah (God willing) I will be moving back to Pakistan once my studies are finished and once the building of our farmhouse outside Islamabad is complete.

"Imran and I have become accustomed to these spiteful rumours. However, that does not make them less hurtful."

Last month Khan's former lover Sita White, daughter of Lord White of Hanson, died aged 43 - leaving a 12-year-old daughter, Tyrian, who, legally speaking, is Khan's child.

He has always denied being her father, but in 1997 Sita won a paternity suit against him. He had failed to turn up for a hearing after she challenged him to a blood test.

Khan has been much admired in Pakistan for setting up the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore for cancer sufferers and in memory of his mother who died from the disease.

Jemima has also been praised for her efforts in raising money for the hospital, which is stashed with hi-tech medical equipment.

During the past year she has moved back among London's party set and become friends with Hugh Grant, but she has always shunned alcohol and revealing partywear in respect for her faith.

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