In our part of the world, marriage between cousins are quite common. Be it Pakistani or Indian culture, for decades desi families have adhered to this tradition, sometimes going so far as to force it. In fact, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some Pakistani celebrities got married to their cousins as well.
Perhaps most Pakistani families prefer it this way, seeing as how the couple may know each other since childhood. They feel there’s less risk of family conflict and divorces this way.
This trend of cousin marriages is decreasing gradually as the upcoming generation gets more upwardly mobile than the previous one.
For today, we will be taking a look at seven major Pakistani celebrities in recent times, who married their cousins.
Contents
1. Shahid Afridi and Nadia Afridi
Shahid Afridi and Nadia Afridi chose each other as life partners on 20th October 1999.
Shahid Afridi hails from a conservative family who were originally based in Khyber Agency of FATA. It is said that Afridi’s family considers marrying anyone outside of their own family as a disgrace.
Nonetheless, the star all-rounder got married to his maternal cousin Nadia Afridi, and the two live a happy life.
Shahid Afridi and Nadia Afridi have been blessed with four beautiful daughters Aqsa Afridi, Ansha Afridi, Asmara Afridi and Ajwa Afridi.
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2. Alyy Khan and Chandni Saigol
Alyy Khan and Chandni Saigol got married in 2005.
Alyy Khan is a very well known Pakistani artist with a British background. He is renowned for his work in Hollywood, Bollywood and Lollywood as well as the Pakistani drama industry.
Alyy Khan, who is the cousin of late Junaid Jamshed happily married his cousin Chandni Saigol in 2005.
This Pakistani celebrity couple have two children, a boy named Rayyan Khan and a beautiful baby girl named Inaya Khan.
3. Reham Khan and Dr. Ejaz Rehman
Reham Khan got married to her cousin Ejaz Rehman in 1993.
At the age of 19, the then BBC reporter Reham Khan decided to marry her cousin Dr. Ejaz Rehman, a UK-based psychiatrist. They had three children together – two daughters Inaya Rehman, Ridha Rehman and one son Sahir Rehman.
Unfortunately, the union did not last long and they got divorced.
Her marriage with her first husband Ejaz Rehman did not turn out to be a successful one and lasted only 12 years. The affair turned out to be one of the most controversial celebrity marriage in Pakistan, In an interview Ejaz said:
“My life was in danger, I saved it after giving divorce to Reham Khan”
Reham Khan later married one of the most influential politicians of Pakistan, Imran Khan. However, that marriage too couldn’t last a year. As per official records, this Pakistani celebrity couple’s marriage lasted from January 06th 2015 till October 2015.
4. Shaista Lodhi and Adnan Lodhi
Shaista Lodhi married her cousin Adnan Lodhi in 2015.
Shaista Lodhi is a well known Pakistani actress, TV presenter and anchor. Her marriage with Adnan was her second one.
Shaista Lodhi was first married to Waqar Wahidi in 1999, but the marriage only lasted for 12 years. They filed for divorce in 2012.
Shaista is now living a happy and prosperous life with her second husband. She has three children, two sons Faiz Wahidi, Shafey Wahidi and one daughter Eeman Wahidi.
5. Saeed Anwar and Lubna Anwar
Saeed Anwar got hitched to his cousin Lubna Anwar in March, 1996.
Saeed Anwar is a renowned cricketing legend. He is also considered as one of the most accomplished opening batsmen for the Pakistani cricket team.
Saeed Anwar holds the record for scoring the most number of centuries (20) by any Pakistani Cricketer and has also scored 11 centuries in test cricket.
His wife Lubna Anwar is a doctor by profession.
The couple had two children. Unfortunately, their daughter Bismah Anwar passed away in 2001 after a prolonged illness. They have their son Khuzaima Saeed.
6. Babar Khan and Bismah Khan
Babar Khan married his cousin Bismah Khan in 2015.
Babar Khan is an accomplished TV actor and model, He is well known for his supporting role in the TV serial “Ek Tamanna Lahasil Si” and was nominated for Best Supporting Role at the HUM awards.
This is his second marriage as his first wife Sana Khan, an accomplished TV actress, died in a tragic car accident while they were travelling to Hyderabad.
Babar Khan has two children Maryam Khan and Ibrahim Khan.
7. Sanam Marvi and Hamid Ali
Sanam Marvi chose her cousin Hamid Ali Khan as her soul mate.
Sanam Marvi is a renowned pop singer and is also known for her sufi and folk tunes. Marvi started taking musical training when she was only seven years old and was trained by “Ustad Fate Ali Khan” for two years .
After being forcefully married off at a very young age Sanam faced various hardships. Despite the challenges, she decided to pursue her dream as a singer.
Her first husband Aftab Ahmed Kalhoro was shot down in Karachi in 2009. Sanam remarried later, choosing to spend the rest of her life with cousin Hamid.
This Pakistani celebrity couple has three children together.
These are some of the Pakistani celebrities who got married to their cousins in recent history.
“Saeed Anwar is a renowned cricket star who helped the team win the 1992 Cricket world cup.”
Really??? How was not even a part of playing squad
Just checked. He was injured prior to it. Post has been updated.