ISLAMABAD: After facing internal criticism due to poor results in the Haripur bypolls, Palcistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan has announced that his wife, Reham Khan, will not be playing an active role in party affairs.

Imran Khan made his decision public via his Twitter account (@ImranKhanPTI) while also trying to snub his wife`s critics.

The first tweet said: `I am appalled & disgusted by attacks on Reham after our loss in NA-19 elec. She only went to campaign there on insistence of the candidate.

The series of tweets started at 8:51am on Tuesday and the PTI chief made it clear to his wife`s critics that she only got involved in the election process after appeals made by female members of the party.

`For the record, Reham has only attended PTI functions at the constant insistence of PTI members, especially the women,`` said Imran Khan in his second tweet.

Like the NA-246 constituency in Karachi, Reham Khan spearheaded the PTI`s election campaign in NA-19 (Haripur) as well.

However, in both cases the party performed far below claims made by the PTI leadership.

Apart from party officials, well wishers of the PTI have also been criticising Reham Khan for what is being called a failed election campaign.

In NA-19, PTI`s candidate Raja Amir Zaman was defeated by PML-N`s Babar Nawaz Khan by 46,893 votes. In his subsequent tweets, the PTI chief announced that his spouse, who is from the Hazara division in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), will not benefit from the party`s government in KP, nor will she hold any office in the party.

`PTI is opposed to all forms of nepotism.Reham Khan will hold no party position, no position in KP, nor will she be given any official protocol,` tweeted Imran Khan.

`Reham Khan will not contest elections on a PTI ticket.

But in subsequent tweets, he left room for Reham Khan to play a somewhat active role in politics by claiming that she had been `politicised`, which was a positive development.

`However, Reham is politicised. One of the great achievements of our dharna was to make our women & youth politicised.

Because only when people are politicised can they fight effectively for their rights & against injustice,` said the PTI chief in another tweet.

At the same time he has barred his wife f rom attending P TI functions on the ground that she was too busy in social work.

`Reham Khan already has too much on her plate, esp working with street children.

In future, she will not attend any PTI function/event,` the tweet read.

He also responded to criticism, mainly on social media, that his wife had led an ineffective election campaign in Karachi`s NA-246, which the PTI lost by a significant margin to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

`In NA 246 by election, I insisted Reham come to Khi & visit NA 246. We wanted to challenge the fear factor & get women voters out to vote,` said the PTI chief in another tweet.

More than an hour after his last tweet, his wife responded to her critics and said: `I repeatedly said every time I was asked that I am not interested in contesting as those who do haven`t made Pakistan any better.

Reham Khan, currently host of a talk show on DawnNews, lambasted her critics by sayingthatshe neverhad anyintentions to participate in politics.

`I had declined invitations for candidacy from political parties long before getting married to IK,` she tweeted.