ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday lashed out on Twitter against "attacks" on wife Reham Khan following the NA-19 by-polls.

He said he was "appalled & disgusted by attacks on Reham" after the party's candidate faced defeat at the hands of PML-N leader Babar Nawaz during the by-elections for the Haripur constituency.

He defended his wife's visit to the constituency to campaign for PTI candidate Raja Aamir Zaman saying, "Reham has only attended PTI functions at the constant insistence of PTI members".

He stated that while Reham would not hold any positions in the party, contest elections on a PTI ticket, hold any position in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government or be given official protocol, she was "politicised".

Khan also said that the PTI was "opposed to all forms of nepotism".

The PTI chief claimed that one of his party's greatest achievements was encouraging women and the youth to engage in political activity, as it galvanised them to "fight effectively for their rights and against injustice",

Khan said Reham already had too much on her plate, especially with her social work with street children, and that she would not attend any PTI events in the future.

He said his wife was with him in Karachi during the NA-246 by-polls because the party wanted to "challenge the fear factor" and encourage women voters to cast their ballots in the election.

Reham responds

Following Imran's outburst, Reham Khan tweeted her support for her husband's political aspirations.

She said she was not interested in contesting elections as "those who do haven't made Pakistan any better".

The former journalist and talk-show host said she had long declined invitations to join political parties ─ even before she married Imran.

PML-N candidate Babar Nawaz won the NA-19 seat in the Aug 16 by-polls with an unofficial number of 89,209 votes, while PTI candidate Raja Amir Zaman bagged 63,127 votes.