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KARACHI: Disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein termed former prime minister Imran Khan a major “threat to peace” in 2018, days after his PTI won Pakistan’s general elections, according to the latest batch of emails released by the US Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.
Epstein mentioned the now-incarcerated PTI founder in his email conversations with an unidentified individual on July 31, 2018, showed the emails released by the US Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.
In 2019, the United States Justice Department charged Epstein in Manhattan with sex trafficking of minors. Epstein pleaded not guilty, but died by suicide the same year before the trial at age 66.
In an email exchange encompassing various topics, Epstein wrote at 4:04am that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been “kind so far” and quipped, “how the US involves itself in others’ elections”.
New batch of emails shows he believed PTI founder was ‘really bad news’
Minutes later, Epstein mentioned both Mr Khan and Mr Putin in the same message: “[Mr Putin] hasn’t pointed out assassinations to overthrow [governments] … coup funding … Imran [Khan] in Pakistan, a much greater threat to peace than [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, Khamenie, [China’s President] Xi or [Mr] Putin.”
‘Bad news’
The other individual asked, “The populist in Pakistan???”, to which Epstein only replied “really bad news”, apparently referring to the PTI founder.
“The cricket player? — How could he be worse that [sic] the Islamist?” the person conversing with the sex offender wondered.
“Makes Donald [Trump] look like [Albert] Einstein. Incapable of truth. Devout Islamist [sic],” Epstein wrote back, seemingly referring to Mr Khan.
“He [Mr Khan] was married to two friends of mine, one daughter of Jimmy Goldsmith. Super wealthy take over guy. Forced her to convert. Wacko,” the paedophile financier claimed.
“It follows your prediction around cults of personality. He is a cricket captain. Not a chess player, but he’s good at rousing the crowd,” Epstein added.
The conversation, as per the emails released, then went silent for 40 minutes before resuming on another topic.
The Oxford-educated Imran Khan is described as one of the world’s greatest all-rounders in cricket before he entered politics.
He had a string of socialite girlfriends, frequented exclusive nightclubs in London and earned a reputation as a playboy, which he began to tone down soon after 1992.
As the reports of Mr Khan’s mention in Epstein’s emails circulated on social media, users also reshared a picture of the PTI founder and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell from a 1990 party, published by the stock photography website Shutterstock. Ms Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, was found guilty in 2021 by a jury in New York of helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.
Powerful contacts
The latest batch from Epstein’s emails illustrates the extraordinary scope of his contacts with powerful people, ranging from a top adviser to US President Donald Trump to Britain’s former prince Andrew.
Epstein’s emails also suggested that Mr Trump was aware of the financier’s sexual abuse and definitely “knew about the girls”. The US president has denied any involvement in or knowledge of the sex-trafficking activities of his former friend.
The United States House of Representatives is expected to vote next week on trying to force the release of evidence gathered on Epstein by law enforcement over the years, including the identities of the men suspected of participating in his alleged sex trafficking ring. Mr Trump has angrily called the push for more transparency a “hoax”, while simultaneously demanding a probe of Epstein’s links to others, including former US president Bill Clinton.
Documents already released by Democrats in Congress include email exchanges running from 2009 to 2019, when Epstein died in detention while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2025
