Beset by rumours of a secret marriage after the publishing of a DailyMail report, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan on Thursday released a statement, that did little to clarify his marital status.

In a press statement by PTI’s central media cell, Imran said “marriage cannot be entered into lightly… second marriages especially need to be considered carefully as children are involved”.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic massacre of our children in Peshawar,” Imran added.

The PTI Chairman did however remain cryptic about whether the marriage had already taken place:

“We are all in a state of mourning at present and it is only respectful that we wait for an appropriate time,” he said.

Rumours of Imran's marriage to a local news anchor were widespread in recent months, but were not taken seriously till the Mail claimed the PTI chief has tied the knot in secret.

The report went on to allege that Imran’s family were against the marriage.

In October, Imran’s ex-wife Jemima Khan had revealed: “My ex-husband, Imran, recently announced that he intended to get remarried soon, which made me think that it’s probably time to change my name back to Goldsmith.”