Who is Bushra Bibi, wife of jailed PTI founder Imran Khan?

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ISLAMABAD: Bushra Bibi, wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, has been sentenced to seven years in prison along with her husband in a £190 million case.

Born Bushra Riaz Vito, she changed her name to Khan after her marriage in 2018. Since going to jail in August 2023, she has been rising to a leadership role in her husband’s political party.

Khan and his followers commonly refer to her as Bushra Bibi or Bushra Begum, titles of respect in the Urdu language.

The verdict in the case, the biggest in the financial irregularities facing Imran Khan, was handed down by an anti-corruption court in a jail in Rawalpindi’s Garrison City, where the one-time cricket hero has been jailed since August 2023.

The former prime minister was sentenced to 14 years in prison and the PTI has said it will appeal against both sentences.

Bushra, who is in her late 40s, made international headlines last year when she broke through heavy security barriers to enter the capital Islamabad with thousands of PTI supporters. Not far from the country’s parliament, he addressed the crowd from the roof of a truck near the historic D Chowk, urging them to stay put until Khan is released.

“All of you must promise that you will not go as long as Khan is not among us,” Bushra said in his first speech at a public rally.

Indicating his increasingly active role in the PTI, he insisted on protesting at a sensitive, central location, despite instructions from Khan to gather on the outskirts of the capital, according to party officials.

The protesters were finally dispersed following a midnight raid by law enforcement agencies after days of deadly clashes. Party officials said Bushra escaped to a nearby PTI stronghold in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where she remained for most of the time until Friday’s court appearance.

Who is Bushra Bibi?

Bushra married Imran in a secret ceremony. This was her third marriage and her second, and she generally kept a low profile at first.

The couple had been sentenced in 2024 for not completing the Islamic period after her previous marriage, although a court overturned the sentence a few months later.

He was released from prison in October after nine months on trial for illegally selling state gifts.

Bushra has been married for almost 30 years. He belongs to a family of Zamindars in Punjab, but little is known about his early life.

Bushra Fariduddin Masood is a devotee of Ganj Shakar, or Baba Farid, a revered Muslim Sufi and Sufi saint whose shrine is located in her ex-husband’s hometown of Pakpattan in Punjab.

She usually appears in public wearing a simple flowing black or white abaya, or robe, covering her face with a veil.

It is not clear when or how Khan met Bushra, but former aide Aoun Chaudhry said Khan was deeply influenced by her spirituality.

What’s next for Bushra Bibi?

The sentence has called into question Bushra’s future role in the PTI, where political leadership often runs in families.

Women have played an important role in Pakistan’s turbulent political history, rallying in support of imprisoned relatives such as the country’s first female prime minister, Benazir Bhutto.

As a young woman, Bhutto lashed out in support of her father, former President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who was imprisoned and executed in 1979 under the military regime of General Zia-ul-Haq.

Mazhar Abbas, a journalist and political analyst, said shortly after last year’s protests that Bushra was now acting like a de facto party leader without officially taking office.

“His style is different and the government is also targeting him,” Abbas said.

Without naming Bushra, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told media that the destruction during the protests was caused by “one woman”.