Bushra Bibi’s influence looms over PTI founder’s political future, says The Economist

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreak e Insaf Founder’s 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’s fate, deciding between political return and continued incarceration.

Summary

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.

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.

It details claims that Bushra exercised sweeping influence over appointments, daily decisions, and even travel timings, with stories of rituals, dreams, and “face-reading” shaping state matters.

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.

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.

Despite bans on his name and legal pressure, PTI founder remains personally popular and is seen by many as a “moral sovereign”, while critics point to his naivety, reliance on informal spiritual authority, and earlier complicity with the very establishment he now confronts

Power sought through mysticism, not just politics

♦️ The article portrays PTI founder at a political low, turning to Bushra Bibi for “spiritual guidance plus worldly success,” suggesting ambition wrapped in piety rather than pure reform.

▪ Occult-style rituals around Khan’s personal life and home

♦️ Former staff describe daily demands for beef, black animal heads and livers, with meat circled around PTI founder’s head to remove “evil spirits” linked to his ex-wife, painting a picture of superstition around a national leader.

▪ Bushra’s interference in government called “absolute”

♦️ A cabinet member is quoted saying her interference in state affairs was total, directly undermining PTI’s slogan of institutional, merit-based governance.

▪ Gatekeeping and fear inside Bani Gala

♦️ The driver and household staff recount that access to PTI founder, flight timings and even when the plane could take off depended on Bushra’s approval, turning a national leader’s schedule into a pir-driven timetable.

▪ Black magic allegations from PTI’s own financiers

♦️ 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.

▪ Use and abuse of loyalists

♦️ loyal party figures and staff are depicted as easily discarded once they cross Bushra or question her influence, undercutting PTI’s narrative of justice and loyalty.

▪ Military-engineered rise contradicts “outsider” slogan

♦️ The article stresses that PTI founder’s 2018 win was widely seen as facilitated by the army and ISI, contradicting PTI’s narrative that he came to power purely through popular will and struggle against the establishment.

▪ ISI allegedly using pir networks to shape PTI founder’s perceptions

♦️ It cites a theory that ISI fed information to pirs connected to Bushra, who then relayed it to PTI founder as “visions” or spiritual insight, questioning his political judgment and independence.

▪ Sacking of Lt Gen Asim Munir framed as self-protective, not principled

♦️ PTI founder is shown removing the ISI chief after reports about Bushra’s alleged corruption, making his stance against “mafias” look selective and self-serving.

▪ Unmet promises on economy and welfare

♦️ The piece recalls PTI founder’s 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 “Naya Pakistan” promise.

▪ Corruption cases clash with “clean hands” image

♦️ 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.

▪ Cult of personality instead of party institutionalization

♦️ PTI is depicted as revolving around one “moral sovereign” plus his wife, with decisions based on dreams and personal likes rather than party processes, contradicting the “institutional democracy” slogan.

▪ Violent protests and attacks on military sites

♦️ 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.

▪ Misogyny plus myth around Bushra, yet real political power

♦️ While acknowledging misogynistic attacks, the article still portrays Bushra as an unelected figure wielding huge hidden influence, undermining PTI’s narrative of transparent, rule-based politics.

▪ PTI founder as naïve, poor judge of character

♦️ Friends are cited calling him naïve and blind to the baggage Bushra brings, painting him as a leader easily manipulated by spiritual and institutional actors despite his strongman rhetoric.