Who is Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi, now sentenced to seven years in prison? | World News

Bushra Khan, the wife of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, will spend seven years behind bars after a court on Friday convicted her alongside her husband in a land corruption case.

A court on Friday sentenced Bushra Khan, the wife of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, and her husband to seven years in prison for their role in a land corruption case. (AP/KM Chaudary)

Born Bushra Riaz Watto, she changed her name to Khan after her marriage in 2018. She has taken a leading role in her husband's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party since his imprisonment in August 2023.

Khan and her supporters commonly call her Bushra Bibi or Bushra Begum, titles which denote respect in the Urdu language.

The verdict in the case, the largest in terms of financial irregularities that Imran Khan has faced, was delivered by an anti-corruption court in a jail in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, where the former cricket hero has been imprisoned since August 2023.

Also read: Imran Khan, former Pakistani Prime Minister, sentenced to 14 years in prison in a land corruption case

Imran Khan was sentenced to 14 years in prison and the PTI announced that it would appeal both convictions.

Bushra, who is in her 40s, made headlines around the world when she entered the capital Islamabad last year with thousands of PTI supporters who broke through heavy security barricades. Not far from the country's parliament, she addressed the crowd from the roof of a truck near the historic D-Chowk square, urging them to stay until Khan is released.

“You must all promise that until Khan is with us, you will not leave,” Bushra said in his first-ever speech at a public rally.

Highlighting her increasingly active role in the PTI, she insisted on holding the protest in a central and sensitive location, despite Khan's instructions to gather on the outskirts of the capital, according to party officials.

Protesters finally dispersed after a massive midnight raid by security forces, following days of deadly clashes. Party officials said Bushra fled to the PTI's neighboring stronghold of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where she largely remained until her court appearance on Friday.

WHO IS BUSHRA BIBI?

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

The couple were convicted in 2024 of failing to respect the waiting period imposed by Islam after their previous marriage, although a court overturned the conviction a few months later.

She was released from prison in October after nine months on a charge of illegally selling state gifts.

Bushra had been married for around 30 years. She came from a landowning family in Punjab, but little is known about her early life.

Bushra is a devotee of Fariduddin Masud Ganjshakar, or Baba Farid, a revered Muslim mystic and Sufi saint whose shrine is located in her ex-husband's hometown of Pakpattan in Punjab.

She usually appears in public with her face covered by a veil, wearing an abaya or flowing black or white dress.

Pakistanis who admire Bushra's devotion to the saint call her a spiritual leader while Khan's opponents accuse her of practicing witchcraft, a claim her aides have repeatedly denied.

It is not clear when or how Khan met Bushra, but his former assistant, Aun Chaudhry, said Khan was very impressed by his spirituality.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR BUSHRA BIBI?

This sentence calls into question Bushra's future role within the PTI in a region where political leadership is often passed down within families.

Women have played an important role in Pakistan's turbulent political history, rallying support for their detained relatives, such as the country's first female prime minister, Benazir Bhutto.

As a young woman, Bhutto defiantly spoke out in support of her father, President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was imprisoned and executed in 1979 during the military rule of General Zia-ul-Haq.

Also read: Hand grenade thrown at Congress leaders' house in Batala, smuggled from Pakistan: cops

Mazhar Abbas, a journalist and political analyst, said shortly after last year's protests that Bushra was now acting as a de facto leader of the party, even without officially holding office.

“Her posture is different and even the government is also targeting her,” Abbas said.

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

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