Video of unveiled Bushra Bibi inciting people

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team has reviewed this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan compared former first lady Bushra Bibi’s face with the woman in the video under investigation.

Posts from several social media users since December 3, 2024, were sharing an alleged video of PTI founder Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, claiming that it showed her unveiled while inciting people during last month’s protests. However, the woman in the video is not Bushra Bibi.

On November 13, Imran issued a “final call” for nationwide protests on Nov 24, demanding the restoration of the PTI’s electoral mandate, the release of detained party members, and the reversal of the 26th Amendment which he said had strengthened a “dictatorial regime”.

A day of pitched battles between security forces and PTI protesters across the federal capital ended in a hasty retreat of the party’s top leadership and supporters from the Red Zone in the early hours of Nov 27.

At least six lives were lost in the three days of protests, which included a policeman and three Rangers officials who were knocked down by a speeding vehicle, officials and hospital sources said. The PTI claims the death toll of its supporters at 12.

The former first lady was one of the main leaders of the protest.

HOW IT STARTED

The iVerify Pakistan team was alerted on Dec 6 about a post on Facebook and requested authentication for its content.

On Dec 3, a Facebook user shared a video of a woman standing amongst a crowd and penned in the caption, “The veil was also taken off to incite people. Pinki Peerni.”

Pinki Peerni is a known nickname for Bushra Bibi as she has been known to be a Pir (faith healer) since she married Imran in 2018.

The post did not outright say or place the video as occurring during last month’s PTI protest but heavily implied it since it was the first public activity of the party in which she participated.

The video gained five million views, 45,000 likes, 3,700 comments and was shared 15,000 times.

The video was posted with a similar caption by another Facebook user on Dec 7, gaining 277,000 views.

The video was also shared with the same caption to a Facebook group named South Punjab Media Cell PMLN (Social Media Team) Official.

The video was also shared on X by a pro-PML-N account on Dec 7, gaining 36,500 views.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to verify the claim due to its virality, the public’s keen interest in the former first lady due to her association with Imran and to satisfy the public’s request seeking authentication of the claim.

Comparing the woman in the alleged video with archive images of Bushra Bibi’s face, sourced from The Business Recorder and Khaleej Times, shows that they are different individuals with no facial resemblance.

Furthermore, the woman in the video can be seen in what looks to be a pickup truck while Bushra Bibi was part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s container vehicle leading the convoy of protesters towards Islamabad as can be seen in the following Nov 26 image from international wire news agency Reuters.

Several users in the comment sections of the videos pointed out that the woman in the footage was actually KP Assembly Deputy Speaker Suriya Bibi.

Comparing her images from a September 10 X post and the KP Assembly website to the video showed that it was indeed her as seen by the same nasal structure.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a video shows Bushra Bibi inciting people while unveiled is false.

The woman in the video is actually KP Assembly Deputy Speaker Suriya Bibi, not the former first lady.

Evidence and References

February 21, 2023, Business Recorder article:
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40227623/nab-summons-imran-khan-bushra-bibi-in-toshakhana-case

July 28, 2018, Khaleej Times article:
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/article/what-imran-khans-wife-bushra-maneka-said-about-his-victory-in-pakistan

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly website profile of Suriya Bibi:
https://www.pakp.gov.pk/members/suriya-bibi-pk-01-2024/

September 10, 2024, Suriya Bibi X post:
https://x.com/SuriyaBibiPTI/status/1833547506577510505