The name on everybody’s lips is Bushra Bibi.
Jailed Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra, led the Nov. 24 “do-or-die” march on Islamabad, standing defiant on a repurposed truck. To loyalists, she became the modern-day Khawla bint al-Azwar, the 7th century battlefield icon from early Islam. This is until her strategic retreat on that starless Sunday night, saving her fight for another day and leaving supporters sour.
Mrs. Khan had defied expectations and, reportedly, her PTI founder husband in rousing stalwarts to breach D-Chowk or Democracy Square—the democracy part long pared down to a single letter. It took troops three hours to clear this area, and they did so with ferocious force. By the end of it all, each side claimed fatalities, with at least five security forces and eight PTI dead. Government ministers blamed “that woman,” Mrs. Khan, for the property damage and the deceased.
At the metaphorical heart of this warzone—helicopters raging above, ground clouded by teargas—stood Mrs. Khan, abaya billowing like a flag in this progress.
Mrs. Khan has been a lightning rod since her marriage to Khan in early 2018. Almost instantly, she began to be seen as mystical, manipulative, maternal. She had an outsize say in Punjab’s PTI-led government, divining political moves and provoking hand-wringing in Khan’s close circle. Her long-held aspiration to become Khan’s political stand-in also put her at odds with his faultlessly loyal sister Aleema.
Following Khan’s overthrow, Bushra Bibi was jailed for nine months and released last October. Her marriage itself became a federal case—for not complying with arcane Shariah codes. During her imprisonment, Mrs. Khan alleged the establishment had poisoned her food with the toilet cleaner Harpic. Already loathed by the Army under the new chief, fresh charges against her arising from this latest protest march will add to her legal knots.
Days ahead of the PTI’s point-made march, Mrs. Khan had kicked up a small storm with a call-to-arms video message that had the potential to test Pakistan’s relationship with Saudi Arabia. There was performative outrage from officials and mea culpas from Khan’s opposition party, where this video deepened wariness of her unwelcome intrusions among key lieutenants.
Mrs. Khan’s jailtime, served and due, her protest planning and march, and even her “fleeing” the scene all lead to the single conclusion—a new political star has arrived.
Ahmed is the editor of this news platform. This piece was updated on Nov. 28 for additional clarity.