Bushra Maneka

Bushra Bibi (born 1970s) is a Pakistani faith healer and politician. She is married to Imran Khan who was the prime minister of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022.

Early life

Bushra Bibi was born in Pakpattan, located 250 km southwest of Lahore, in the early 1970s into a conservative, politically active landowning family in central Punjab. She belongs to the Wattoo clan, a landowning Jat group, of whom the Manekas are a sub-clan.

Personal life

First marriage

Bushra married Khawar Maneka in 1989. 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. They divorced in 2017.
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. Her eldest daughter Mehru Maneka is the daughter-in-law of politician Mian Atta Muhammad Manika. Another of her daughters is also married.

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

Second marriage

Khan and Bushra met for the first time in 2015 through Bibi's sister, Maryam Riaz Wattoo. 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. 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'', and this is what reportedly drew Khan closer to her. She has been described as a leader of pilgrimages to Baba Farid's shrine. During his visits, Khan would often consult her on spiritual matters whenever he found himself in a "difficult situation." 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. According to a family source, Khan held "a lot of reverence for ushraas a true follower." As the visits became more frequent, their personal understanding, love and affection also grew. 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.

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". 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.

Involvement in politics

Bushra was noted as the first niqab-wearing spouse of a Pakistani prime minister. 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. Shortly after Khan took office, the media quoted Bibi as being "afraid" and commenting, "Power comes and goes." During the premiership of Imran Khan, she participated indirectly in political activities. 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.

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. 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.

Convictions

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. Judge Qudratullah also invalidated their initial marriage dated 1 January 2018, and imposed a fine of Rs 0.5 million on each. The court concluded that Khan and Bibi had knowingly engaged in an unlawful marriage on 1 January 2018. 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. However, on 13 July 2024, ADSJ Afzal Majoka dismissed the case and ordered their immediate release.

Al-Qadir Trust case

The Al-Qadir Trust case, commonly known as the £190m case involved allegations that Khan and some others in 2019 adjusted Rs50 billion — amounting to £190 million at the time — sent by Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government during his tenure as the country's prime minister.

Imran Khan was arrested by NAB on 13 November 2023. Bushra was also interrogated. On 1 December 2023 NAB filed the reference in Accountablity court against them. The couple were indicted on 27 February 2024.

On 17 January 2025, Imran Khan was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment over the Al-Qadir Trust case, while Bushra Bibi was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment in the same case.

Toshakhana case

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.

Imprisonment and release

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.

She was granted bail on 23 October 2024 and was released the next day.

Controversies

Alleged extramarital affair

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. 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.

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.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bibi, Bushra
Living people
Pakistani spiritual teachers
Pakistani prisoners and detainees
Pakistani Sufis
Sufi teachers
Family of Imran Khan
People from Okara District
People from Pakpattan District
Spouses of prime ministers of Pakistan
Pakistani Muslims
1970s births
Faith healers