Bushra Bibi emerges as symbol in PTI protests

ISLAMABAD: After the recent protests staged by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), a new figurehead has emerged: Bushra Bibi, the wife of the incarcerated party’s founder-chairman Imran Khan.

Until now, she has appeared only rarely in official photos, shielded from view during court appearances by large white sheets and always wearing a face veil.

But since being released from Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail last month, where her husband and former prime minister still languishes, Khan's third wife has stepped up in his defence and roused his fanatic followers.

"It was assumed that there was an understanding that she is a non-political person, hence she will not be a threat," said analyst Asma Faiz, an associate professor of political science at Lahore University of Management Sciences.

"However, the events of the last few days have shown a different side of Bushra Bibi."

Islamabad was brought to a standstill on Monday and Tuesday when scores of PTI supporters flooded the federal capital, defying a ban by authorities.

The former ruling party's "do-or-die" protest demanding Khan's release culminated with nearly 1,000 supporters being arrested by the authorities.

PTI Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja, claiming that at least 20 people lost their lives, said that the party would approach courts against the government, the Ministry of Interior, and the interior minister.

Meanwhile, Islamabad's police chief, Ali Rizvi, denied that live ammunition had been used during the operation and said that 600 protesters had been arrested in Tuesday's operation, bringing the total since the protest sit-in began on Sunday to 954.

In the days leading up to the protest, Bushra Bibi made her first direct appeal to the PTI supporters, pleading with them to defend Khan.

She made an unexpected appearance on top of a truck in a convoy of vehicles in the midst of the clashes between protesters and security forces, seizing the limelight ahead of other leaders.

"You will have to promise that till the time [Imran] Khan comes here, you will not leave," she cried to the crowds.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was clear about where he apportioned blame for the chaos. "Bushra Bibi is the only one responsible," he said.

Imran Khan's 'messenger'

A faith healer, Bushra and Khan became close when he turned to her for spiritual guidance in his political career. The pair married in 2018, the same year Khan was elected prime minister after an insurgent campaign promising to replace decades of entrenched dynastic politics.

She was arrested and detained in the days before February's general elections over corruption and for breaking Islamic law by marrying Khan too soon after her divorce.

"Her relationship to Khan gives her authenticity in the eyes of protesters who at the end of the day are marching for Khan," said Michael Kugelman, a director at the Wilson Centre.

But her role has the potential to cause division in a party that has struggled to maintain a tight top leadership with PTI founder sidelined in jail.

"[Bushra] Bibi's prominent place in the protests may be controversial as some party leaders are sparring with her, but her role actually helps advance the party's mobilisation goals, which are a critical priority," Kugelman added.

It was also the former first lady who encouraged the protesters to march to the centre of the capital, despite the government saying a senior PTI leader had already promised to keep to the periphery of the city.

Khan, in comments made to his team from jail and posted on social media, played down her influence.

She has "no connection with politics", he said ahead of the protest.

"As she is my wife, she only transmits my messages," he assured before the demonstrations.

PTI media department echoed the comments on Thursday: "She led the protest as the wife of Mr Khan, not a political leader of the party."

Family politics

In Pakistan, several women have been suddenly propelled into politics: former prime minister Benazir Bhutto during the coup against her father and Maryam Nawaz Sharif, niece of current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, when her father Nawaz Sharif was imprisoned and then exiled.

Many have praised Bushra Bibi's "courage" under the photos of her haranguing the crowd from the top of a container. But the new involvement of Khan’s wife is a double-edged sword for the PTI founder, whose sister Aleema Khan also plays a growing role in PTI.

Pitched as the outsider facing the generational politics of the Bhutto and Sharif families, the hero of Pakistan's new era treads a careful line.