Pakistan ex-PM Khan’s wife back home after residence declared ‘sub-jail’

“The Chief Commissioner, Islamabad Capital Territory is pleased to declare the residence of convict Mst. Bushra Bibi … as Sub-Jail, as on Jan 31, 2024, till further orders,” read an order seen by AFP.

The Khan home – a rambling bungalow in a large compound surrounded by high concrete walls – is in the plush Bani Gala area of the capital.

Pakistan goes to the polls on Feb 8 in a ballot already marred by allegations of rigging, with Khan barred from running and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party subject to a massive crackdown.

Thousands of supporters were detained when riots broke out after Khan’s first arrest last year, with around 100 people awaiting trial in secretive military courts.

Bibi is a polarising figure whose marriage to Khan in 2018 – months before he was elected prime minister – both scandalised and titillated the nation.

Oxford-educated Khan earned a reputation as a playboy during his cricket-playing bachelor days, frequently photographed alongside society beauties and models.

His first marriage to Jemima Goldsmith – the daughter of a British multimillionaire – ended in divorce.

He then married Reham Nayyar, a television journalist who published a kiss-and-tell memoir after they divorced within a year.

Bibi, his third wife, rarely appears in public and wears a face-covering hijab when she does.