Dawn Images

Veena Malik's marriage to Dubai-based businessman Asad Khattak was short-lived, with the Hum Sub Umeed Se Hain host filing for khula after three years.

However, tensions between the two seem to be far from over; Khattak has now uploaded two videos on Twitter, making comments about his ex-wife's character, alleged maltreatment of their children and why he had chosen to marry her in the first place.

"I'm thankful to all of you for contributing towards getting justice for my kids," he said.

"I married her within eight days of meeting her at the Dubai consulate, where I criticised her for giving a bad name to Pakistan's image. In response, she had expressed her desire to turn to God's path, hoping someone would accept her because everything she had done till then was out of majboori."

"Being a Pakistani, Muslim and from a respectable family, I discussed this with my parents telling them that giving companionship to an astray woman would be Sunnah and make my God happy. So that's what I did. My friends and audiences, I married her for God. To bring her to the straight path."

"However, unfortunately the marriage could not work out," he continued, placing the burden of that on Veena alone.

"Me, ulema and our friends tried our best to bring her to the straight path but it couldn't happen. She dragged my reputation in the mud for 5 years but I won't stay quiet now that my children are involved."

Going on to discuss his children, Khattak said Veena had ill-treated them to a point he could not tolerate. "Apart from that, she kidnapped them from Dubai with the help of Pakistani consulate, who transported them on May 4 to Lahore on a Covid flight."

"My kids are US nationals and their name is on the ECL," he said, claiming that their transfer was illegal. "You need to speak for justice for Asad Khattak and fight for this cause," he went on to encourage his listeners.

However, in a tweet posted earlier, Malik had shared a photo of a court order which provided her custody of her two children.

The ruling clearly deemed her as the appointed legal guardian of both her children, Abraham and Amal, from 28 September 2019 till further orders.

Previously, Malik filed a plea in a Lahore court on January 6, 2017 for a khula (dissolution of marriage) from her husband, which was issued in favour of the actress on January 31, 2017.

"Veena's reason for the dissolution of marriage is that Asad changed after marriage, his personality became 'complicated' and his demeanour became negative," the actor's lawyer Ali Ahmed had told Dawn.

Her father, Malik Aslam, too revealed that even though Asad was a partner in his business, he was not "as financially stable" and that the couple "had a lot of problems."

Khattak recently sent his ex-wife a Rs500 million legal notice to claim damages for "illegally" transferring their two children from the United Arab Emirates to Pakistan.