Southampton's Pakistani community give their support to former BBC South weather girl Reham Khan

So much can go wrong – and millions of people can see every mistake you make.

However, it would be fair to say that broadcasting weather forecasts on BBC South Today and Radio Solent did not involve a fraction of the pressure that Reham Khan is facing now in her new life as the wife of Pakistan cricket legend turned politician Imran Khan.

The popular BBC weather presenter’s image used to be beamed on to television screens across Hampshire and neighbouring counties.

Now she has been cast into the global spotlight after marrying one of the world’s most famous men and potentially lining herself up as the next First Lady of Pakistan.

Reham – who has an established broadcasting career in Pakistan – can expect many perks as the high profile bride of the chairman of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.

But with rewards come responsibilities on top of a barrage of criticism in an often fiercely traditional and conservative country which is still grappling with the legacy of terrorism and finding its feet in the modern world.

However leading Pakistani community members in Hampshire – where she often visited during her BBC years – feel she has all the qualities needed to bridge the gap between east and west.

Reham, 41, and Imran, 62, married in a luxurious wedding in Islamabad last month.

It sparked a tirade of fury as the ceremony came just weeks after 152 children and teachers were massacred by the Taliban at a school in Peshawar.

Reham Khan married former cricketer turned politician Imran Khan

The city is the capital of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where his party controls the government.

Police had to hold back protesters as the couple were jeered when they visited the school and there were furious chants of “Go Imran go” as they accused him of committing more time to his lavish wedding ceremony than remembering the families of the victims.

Protesters accused Imran and his new bride of staging a media stunt “to show fake prayers and condolences”.

He later told reporters he respected the relatives’ demonstrations and said: “I fully understand their grief.

They have lost children.”

It came a week after Reham faced condemnation after footage of her learning how to cook and sell pork sausages at a country fair was widely shared.

Handling or eating pork is forbidden by Islamic law and she has been criticised by religious conservatives in Pakistan.

She has also come under fire for being a formerly married mother of three.

Politicians can face huge risks in the country and the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007 shows the lengths to which opponents will go.

But members of Southampton’ s Pakistani community feel she faces no immediate danger and are confident she can be a force of good and a role model for the country.

Southampton Pakistan Welfare Association general secretary Ahmed Hussain said: “Life is very hard being a politician’s wife in Pakistan.

“I don’t think there’s any danger for her but she is a brave lady to put herself in that situation.

“I strongly believe that she’s an intelligent lady who knows what she is doing.

“Pakistan needs a personality that knows how things are done in the western world.”

He said her role as presenter for AAJ TV means she is already popular and added: “Reham is quite well known for her role in the media.

“She’s doing a good job and she’s a pretty young lady but I guess some people are jealous.

“Yes, she is a mother who has been married before but at least she is getting married rather than being a mistress.”

Navid Hamid, a Muslim businessman living in Southampton who worships at the Medina Mosque and whose parents hail from Pakistan, said the couple’s relationship is a private matter.

“There can be a lot of dirty politics in Pakistan played by people who are aiming to get one over on her,” he added.

“She is well spoken and articulate and she is a good human being and they are a great couple.

“I don’t think I would fear for her safety – there is a lot of propaganda that takes place in Pakistan through different religious and political parties.

“But she is a role model for the young people there.”

Reham was born in Libya to Pakistani parents, a doctor and lawyer, and has three children from her previous marriage to a doctor.

She joined the BBC in 2008 and became a popular figure on local television presenting the weather.

She worked for the BBC for four-and-a-half-years before she decided to resign in 2012, moving to Pakistan to cover the historical 2013 Pakistani general election.

Her lavish wedding, to a man more than 20 years her senior, an Islamic wedding ritual known as a nikah, is thought to have taken place several weeks ago.

Yet it took until earlier this week for the couple to officially confirmthe marriage – for which Reham dressed in an off-white Peshwaz gown with a red brocade border – had taken place at all.

Imran, who had divorced heiress Jemima Goldsmith in 2004 after nine years of marriage, had told reporters on New Year’s Eve that reports of the wedding had been “greatly exaggerated”.

In a tweet, Reham thanked well wishers: “Thank you for all your kind wishes. We would appreciate that instead of sending us presents if you could donate to SKMT Peshawar (a cancer hospital).”

During an interview on a Pakistani television show, Reham also claimed she was a victim of domestic violence in her previous marriage, to NHS psychiatrist Ijaz Rehman.

She was married to Mr Rehman for 15 years, and had three children with him.

He has denied the accusation, and was reported as saying: “I always looked after my children and wife very well.

“I am surprised that these allegations were made.”

Despite repeated attempts, the Daily Echo has been unable to contact Reham directly.