{"id":101311,"date":"2025-11-16T05:15:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T05:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/bushra-bibis-influence-looms-over-pti-founders-political-future-says-the-economist-bol-news-staging\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T05:15:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T05:15:03","slug":"bushra-bibis-influence-looms-over-pti-founders-political-future-says-the-economist-bol-news-staging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/bushra-bibis-influence-looms-over-pti-founders-political-future-says-the-economist-bol-news-staging\/","title":{"rendered":"Bushra Bibi\u2019s influence looms over PTI founder\u2019s political future, says The Economist \u2013 BOL News Staging"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-id=\"474ce0e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-content.default\">\n<p>ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreak e Insaf Founder\u2019s marriage to Bushra Bibi, a spiritual figure, sent shockwaves across the country.<\/p>\n<p>The Economist noted that she may now hold sway over the former prime minister\u2019s fate, deciding between political return and continued incarceration.<\/p>\n<p>Summary<\/p>\n<p>PTI founder, once a cricket icon, built his political career as an anti-corruption outsider through PTI, promising an Islamic welfare state and clean governance.<\/p>\n<p>The article explains how his third marriage to Bushra Bibi, a Sufi-inclined spiritual guide from Punjab, transformed both his personal life and political trajectory.<\/p>\n<p>It details claims that Bushra exercised sweeping influence over appointments, daily decisions, and even travel timings, with stories of rituals, dreams, and \u201cface-reading\u201d shaping state matters.<\/p>\n<p>It also explores a second layer, speculation that elements within ISI used Bushra and her pirs to channel inside information to PTI founder, reinforcing his belief in her mystical insight.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Once in power, PTI founder failed to deliver on large promises, fell out with army leadership, and was removed through a no-confidence vote, then jailed on multiple corruption cases involving state gifts and an Islamic university project. Bushra too is imprisoned.<\/p>\n<p>Despite bans on his name and legal pressure, PTI founder remains personally popular and is seen by many as a \u201cmoral sovereign\u201d, while critics point to his naivety, reliance on informal spiritual authority, and earlier complicity with the very establishment he now confronts<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Power sought through mysticism, not just politics<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f The article portrays PTI founder at a political low, turning to Bushra Bibi for \u201cspiritual guidance plus worldly success,\u201d suggesting ambition wrapped in piety rather than pure reform.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa Occult-style rituals around Khan\u2019s personal life and home<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f Former staff describe daily demands for beef, black animal heads and livers, with meat circled around PTI founder\u2019s head to remove \u201cevil spirits\u201d linked to his ex-wife, painting a picture of superstition around a national leader.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa Bushra\u2019s interference in government called \u201cabsolute\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f A cabinet member is quoted saying her interference in state affairs was total, directly undermining PTI\u2019s slogan of institutional, merit-based governance.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa Gatekeeping and fear inside Bani Gala<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f The driver and household staff recount that access to PTI founder, flight timings and even when the plane could take off depended on Bushra\u2019s approval, turning a national leader\u2019s schedule into a pir-driven timetable.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa Black magic allegations from PTI\u2019s own financiers<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f Major PTI backer Jahangir Tareen is shown raising concerns that Bushra was using black magic, then being frozen out, illustrating how inner-circle whispers, not party institutions, decided political fates.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa Use and abuse of loyalists<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f loyal party figures and staff are depicted as easily discarded once they cross Bushra or question her influence, undercutting PTI\u2019s narrative of justice and loyalty.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa Military-engineered rise contradicts \u201coutsider\u201d slogan<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f The article stresses that Khan\u2019s 2018 win was widely seen as facilitated by the army and ISI, contradicting PTI\u2019s narrative that he came to power purely through popular will and struggle against the establishment.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa ISI allegedly using pir networks to shape PTI founder\u2019s perceptions<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f It cites a theory that ISI fed information to pirs connected to Bushra, who then relayed it to PTI founder as \u201cvisions\u201d or spiritual insight, questioning his political judgment and independence.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa Sacking of Lt Gen Asim Munir framed as self-protective, not principled<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f PTI founder is shown removing the ISI chief after reports about Bushra\u2019s alleged corruption, making his stance against \u201cmafias\u201d look selective and self-serving.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa Unmet promises on economy and welfare<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f The piece recalls PTI founder\u2019s pledges of millions of homes and jobs, then highlights economic failure and his own admission that such change cannot be delivered in one term, eroding the \u201cNaya Pakistan\u201d promise.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa Corruption cases clash with \u201cclean hands\u201d image<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f Detailed mention of cases over expensive state gifts and the Al-Qadir style trust arrangement, and the resulting prison sentences for both PTI founder and Bushra, directly attack his anti-corruption brand.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa Cult of personality instead of party institutionalization<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f PTI is depicted as revolving around one \u201cmoral sovereign\u201d plus his wife, with decisions based on dreams and personal likes rather than party processes, contradicting the \u201cinstitutional democracy\u201d slogan.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa Violent protests and attacks on military sites<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f The article stresses that, after his arrest, PTI supporters attacked army buildings and historic symbols, presenting the movement as willing to cross red lines while still claiming to defend institutions.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa Misogyny plus myth around Bushra, yet real political power<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f While acknowledging misogynistic attacks, the article still portrays Bushra as an unelected figure wielding huge hidden influence, undermining PTI\u2019s narrative of transparent, rule-based politics.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa PTI founder as na\u00efve, poor judge of character<\/p>\n<p>\u2666\ufe0f Friends are cited calling him na\u00efve and blind to the baggage Bushra brings, painting him as a leader easily manipulated by spiritual and institutional actors despite his strongman rhetoric.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreak e Insaf Founder\u2019s marriage to Bushra Bibi, a spiritual figure, sent shockwaves across the country. The Economist noted that she may now hold sway over the former prime minister\u2019s fate, deciding between political return and continued incarceration. Summary PTI founder, once a cricket icon, built his political career as an anti-corruption outsider [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.bolnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Bibi.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}