Rumours are rife here that Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has “secretly” remarried.
A flood of Internet and other media reports suggest that Mr Zardari, PPP co-chair, wed a New York-based woman in her late 40s who is a graduate of Sindh Medical College.
Tanveer Zamani, the supposed bride, is partly of Mediterranean descent and is believed to be living in Manhattan. Some websites claim that she owns estates in London, Dubai, Islamabad and New York.
The reports claimed Mr Zardari and Ms Zamani took their religious vows under Shia laws in Dubai last week. Nine black goats, six cows and a camel were sacrificed on the occasion.
Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar has rejected reports about the President’s marriage, and said: “These speculative reports are the figment of a sick imagination, showing that the President’s opponents have chosen to target his personal life.”