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Bushra Bibi

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Bushra Bibi
بشریٰ بی بی
Bibi in 2024
Personal details
Born
Bushra Riaz Wattoo

(1971-03-12) 12 March 1971 (age 53)[1]
Pakpattan, Punjab, Pakistan[1]
Spouse(s)
Khawar Maneka
​
​
(m. 1989; div. 2017)​

​
​
(m. 2018)​
Children5
Known forSpouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan (2018–2022)

Bushra Bibi[a] (born Bushra Riaz Wattoo; 12 March 1971) is a Pakistani faith healer and politician. She is married to Imran Khan who served as the prime minister of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022.

In 2024, Bibi made her political debut when she led the November 2024 PTI protest.

Early life

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Bushra Bibi was born on 12 March 1971 into a conservative, politically active family in central Punjab. She belongs to the Wattoo clan, a landowning Jat group,[2] of whom the Manekas are a sub-clan.[3][4] She was formerly a resident of Pakpattan, located 250 km southwest of Lahore.[3]

Personal life

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First marriage

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Bushra married Khawar Maneka in 1989.[5] Khawar Maneka was a senior Customs official and a son of Ghulam Muhammad Maneka, a former federal minister in Benazir Bhutto's cabinet. His brother Ahmad Raza Maneka is currently a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, and is affiliated with the PML-N.[6] They divorced in 2017.[3] She has three daughters and two sons from her first marriage. Her sons graduated from the Aitchison College in Lahore in 2013, and pursued higher education abroad.[3] Her eldest daughter Mehru Maneka is the daughter-in-law of politician Mian Atta Muhammad Manika.[3][7] Another of her daughters is also married.[6]

On 6 August 2018, it was reported that Mehru Maneka had joined Khan's PTI following a meeting with him.[8]

Second marriage

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Khan and Bushra met for the first time in 2015 through Bibi's sister, Maryam Riaz Wattoo.[7][9] According to Dawn, Khan, noted for his increasing inclination towards Sufism in recent decades, was a frequent visitor of Baba Farid's shrine in Pakpattan, where he would pay homage to the renowned 12th-century Sufi saint. He usually visited the town in the evening escorted by his private guards, and would later stay for a few hours at the Maneka family's residence, his local hosts, after which he would return to Islamabad. The Manekas were influential locally, and shared a "spiritual relationship" with Khan.[4] Bushra, who was at that time married to Khawar Maneka, was a known and respected Sufi scholar, spiritual mentor and faith healer, also referred to as a pir or murshid,[4] and this is what reportedly drew Khan closer to her.[10] She has been described as a leader of pilgrimages to Baba Farid's shrine.[10] During his visits, Khan would often consult her on spiritual matters whenever he found himself in a "difficult situation."[4] It was reported that Khan first interacted with Bibi shortly before the 2015 by-election in Lodhran for the NA-154 constituency. He became "very pleased" when his candidate Jahangir Tareen won that election, which she had correctly predicted, and started visiting and consulting her more regularly for guidance.[4] According to a family source, Khan held "a lot of reverence for [Bushra] as a true follower."[4] As the visits became more frequent, their personal understanding also grew.[10] However, the prospect of marriage never surfaced until Khan learnt of Bushra's divorce. A few months after their marriage, the couple went on a pilgrimage to Makkah.[10]

My interest in Sufism started 30 years ago. It changed my life. Sufism is an order with many levels, but I have never met anyone who is as high as my wife. My interest in her began with that.

— Imran Khan, 2018[10]

Bushra has been described as an introvert who prefers to stay at home rather than attending social functions and gatherings very frequently, to which Khan admittedly has no objections, as he himself is "past the age of socialising".[10] With regards to her marriage with Imran, Bibi has clarified that, contrary to some reports in the media, her marriage to Imran took place seven months after the ‘iddat period’ following the dissolution of her first marriage.[11]

Involvement in politics

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Bushra was noted as the first niqab-wearing spouse of a Pakistani prime minister.[12][13] Bibi stated that her decision to wear a niqab is a personal choice in line with religious teachings and that she is not seeking to impose it on anyone else.[14] Shortly after Khan took office, the media quoted Bibi as being "afraid" and commenting, "Power comes and goes."[15] During the premiership of Imran Khan, she participated indirectly in political activities.[9] According to close aides, she influenced major political decisions, such as ministerial appointments, and during some political meetings, she would listen from behind a screen and provide guidance to Imran Khan.[9]

November 2024 PTI protest

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Main article: November 2024 PTI protest

Bushra Bibi played a prominent role in the November 2024 PTI protest, entering Islamabad alongside thousands of PTI supporters who breached security barricades to demand Imran Khan's release. She addressed the crowd near D-Chowk, a central location close to parliament, and called for holding the protest there. According to sources, this decision contrasted with earlier instructions attributed to Imran Khan, which suggested gathering on the city's outskirts. When the government launched a midnight crackdown involving tear gas, rubber bullets, and arrests of protesters, she left the protest site. Her departure prompted criticism from some protesters who felt abandoned during the violent clashes.[16][17] The protests turned violent, resulting in at least six deaths. PTI eventually ended the protests. Bushra Bibi's active involvement marked a shift from her previously private role.[18][19]

Convictions

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Iddat case

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Main article: Iddat case

On 4 February 2024, Bushra Bibi was sentenced to seven years in prison along with her husband, Imran Khan, by a local court for violating Section 496 of the Pakistan Penal Code by marrying during her Iddat period.[20] Judge Qudratullah also invalidated their initial marriage dated 1 January 2018, and imposed a fine of Rs 0.5 million on each.[20] The court concluded that Khan and Bibi had knowingly engaged in an unlawful marriage on 1 January 2018.[20] Despite the couple's claim that a February 2018 ceremony was a non-marital religious event, the judge determined it was a valid marriage based on witness testimonies and rejected their claims that it occurred post-Iddat.[20] However, on 13 July 2024, ADSJ Afzal Majoka dismissed the case and ordered their immediate release.[21]

Toshakhana case

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Bushra Bibi was also given a 14-year sentence in Toshakhana case alongside her husband, Imran Khan, after both were convicted of illegally profiting from state gifts while he was in office.[22]

Imprisonment and release

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On 25 April 2024, Mashal Yousafzai, a spokesperson for Bushra Bibi had claimed that Bibi was poisoned in prison and faced medical negligence after two-to-three drops of "toilet cleaner" were dropped in her meal on 24 February. Yousafzai had also claimed that an endoscopy revealed ulceration and inflammation in Bibi's stomach but authorities barred her from getting a blood test done.[23]

She was granted bail on 23 October 2024[24][25] and was released the next day.[26]

Controversies

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Alleged extramarital affair

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In an exclusive interview to anchor person Shahzeb Khanzada, former husband of Bibi, Khawar Maneka revealed that Bibi was allegedly involved in an extramarital affair with the former prime minister Imran Khan during the time when Bibi was still married to Maneka.[27] Maneka also alleges that Bibi married Khan before completion of her compulsory Iddah period required under Islamic family law. Maneka claims that he divorced Bibi on 14 November 2017, while Bibi and Khan married in January 2018.[28] Bushra's Nikkah (marriage) with Imran Khan was dissolved on 3 February 2024 through a verdict by the Pakistani court in which Bushra was convicted and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment for the violation of Islamic family laws by marrying Imran Khan before completion of her Iddah period.[29][30][31]

Notes

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  1. ^ Urdu: بشریٰ بی بی

References

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  1. ^ a b Mishra, Vanya (1 February 2024). "Who is Bushra Bibi wife of Imran Khan, biography, age, family, husband, children and face old photos". The SportsGrail. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  2. ^ Swami, Praveen (24 October 2021). "Can Imran Khan's secret weapon defeat the Pakistan Army, and build an Islamic state?". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023. [...] Bushra was born into a minor branch of the prominent landowning jatt-caste Wattoo clan [...]
  3. ^ a b c d e Jamal, Sana (19 February 2018). "Baba Farid: Where Imran Khan and Bushra Maneka found each other". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Butt, Shafiq (18 February 2018). "What brings PTI chief to a remote town?". Dawn. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  5. ^ Jamal, Sana (8 January 2018). "Imran Khan did not break up my marriage: Bushra's ex-husband". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Who's Khawar Farid Maneka and why Bushra Bibi took divorce from him". Daily Times. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Imran Khan's sisters once again in the dark regarding his marriage". The Express Tribune. 8 January 2018. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Imran Khan's stepdaughter Mehru Maneka joins Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf". New Indian Express. PTI. 6 August 2018. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  9. ^ a b c Ellis-Petersen, Hannah; Baloch, Shah Meer (2 December 2024). "Who is Bushra Bibi? Imran Khan's wife stands at the forefront of the Pakistan protests". The Guardian.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "I know more about physical attraction than anyone else: Imran Khan on his third marriage". Dawn. 22 July 2018. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  11. ^ "عوام کے لیے بشری بی بی کے انٹرویو کے اہم پیغامات - ہم نیوز". ہم نیوز (in Urdu). 28 September 2018. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Burqa of Pakistan's first lady 'unmasks societal biases'". The Express Tribune. 18 August 2018. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  13. ^ Gulzar, Falah (28 September 2018). "Bushra: Imran Khan will take time to change Pakistan". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  14. ^ "ہم نیوز پر بشری بی بی کا انٹرویو سوشل میڈیا کا اہم موضوع - ہم نیوز". ہم نیوز. 28 September 2018. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  15. ^ "First lady Bushra Maneka 'afraid' after Imran Khan sworn in as Pakistan PM". Deccan Chronicle. 18 August 2018. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  16. ^ Nath, Sanstuti (27 November 2024). "All About Bushra Bibi, Imran Khan's Wife And Central Figure In Pakistan Protests". NDTV. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  17. ^ Mukul, Sushim (27 November 2024). "Imran Khan aide Gandapur does a hat-trick, flees protest site with Bushra Bibi". India Today. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  18. ^ Mukherjee, Vasudha (27 November 2024). "Who is Bushra Bibi?". Business Standard. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Pakistan court acquits former PM Imran Khan, wife in unlawful marriage case". Al Jazeera. 13 July 2024. Archived from the original on 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  20. ^ a b c d Asad, Malik (4 February 2024). "Imran, Bushra convicted in Iddat case, too". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  21. ^ Mehtab, Umer; Naseer, Tahir (13 July 2024). "Release from jail remains elusive as NAB 'arrests' Imran, Bushra in new case after Iddat conviction overturned". Dawn. Archived from the original on 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Toshakhana 2.0: Bushra Bibi's release order issued, security heightened at Adiala Jail". The Express Tribune. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  23. ^ "'Drops of toilet cleaner mixed in Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi's food'". The Times of India. 25 April 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  24. ^ Naseer, Tahir (23 October 2024). "Bushra Bibi granted bail in new Toshakhana case". Dawn. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  25. ^ Naseer, Tahir (24 October 2024). "Imran's wife Bushra Bibi freed after nearly 9 months following bail in new Toshakhana case". Dawn. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  26. ^ "Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi, released from prison". Al Jazeera. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  27. ^ "Chairman PTI & Bushra Bibi's controversial marriage | Khawar Manika revelations - Shahzeb Khanzada", YouTube, Geo News, 20 November 2023, archived from the original on 21 November 2023, retrieved 21 November 2023
  28. ^ Javed, Tazmeen (21 November 2023). "Imran ruined my married life: Bushra's ex-husband". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  29. ^ Hussain, Abid. "Pakistan's Imran Khan, wife now get 7 years jail for marriage law violation". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  30. ^ Burney, Umer (3 February 2024). "In yet another conviction, Imran and Bushra Bibi handed 7-year jail sentences in Iddat case". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  31. ^ "Imran Khan: Pakistan ex-PM and wife Bushra Bibi jailed for illegal marriage". 3 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Samina Shahid Abbasi
 Spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan
2018–2022 		Succeeded by
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