Why husband Imran was not there

Imran Khan is pursuing an increasingly demanding career as a politician in Pakistan and now rarely leaves the country.

Despite his near-idol status as a successful Test cricket all-rounder, 49-year-old Khan has been unable to replicate that success fully in the political sphere.

While he is devoted to challenging what he sees as the corrupt political culture of Pakistan, his wife is spending more time apart from him, particularly when she returns to London during her children?s summer holidays from their school in Islamabad.

Jemima, 28, moved to Pakistan with him when they married in 1995. It was a union that drew criticism and surprise in equal measures. In Pakistan, many observers were not impressed that Khan, a strict Muslim, had chosen to marry a glamourous former socialite 20 years his junior.

And in England, there was some scepticism as to whether his new wife would be able to cope with giving up her affluent lifestyle, learning Urdu, and devoting herself to a subservient role expected of some Muslim wives.

Since then, there have been frequent reports of strains on their marriage, sparked partly by her decision to maintain her house in London amid uncomfortable living conditions at the family home.

Two years ago, she was forced to issue a public rebuttal of media portrayals depicting her husband as an absent father who left his wife and sick children at home while he single-mindedly pursued a political career.

As well as leading his political party, the Movement for Justice, Khan has dedicated much of his time to funding and building a dedicated cancer hospital in Lahore after the death of his mother from the illness. At the time there was no such facility in Pakistan.

Khan, whose party failed to win a seat in the last parliamentary elections in 1996, is a strong supporter of President Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999.

In much of his recent campaigning, Jemima has been by his side. She also works for several international charities.