At the tender age of fourteen, Imran Khan experienced his first spiritual awakening. Shaukat Khanum, his mother, introduced her only son to a peerni, a female spiritual advisor, by inviting her to her home. She was hoping the peerni would offer some advice and pray for Imran. Rather than offering prayers on his behalf, the peerni shocked Imran’s mother by disclosing the secret, which was only known to Imran and his Qaari sahib, that her son had not yet finished reading the Holy Quran.
The peerni was correct, and little Imran was surprised. The only person who knew that Imran’s student had not yet completed the Quran was the Qaari sahib, who came to tutor Imran. Imran’s obsession with playing cricket in Zaman Park, Lahore, has caused him to neglect his post-school Quran sessions.
Khan narrated this incident in his biography, which was first published in 2011. He met another peerni in his late 60s and married her quietly. Many rumours surrounded the timing of that marriage from day one. Some of his close friends told me that he married Bushra Bibi because he was sure that he would become Prime Minister only after marrying her. He became premier within six months of that marriage. He never believed in people’s power to become Prime Minister. He believed in a woman who was famous as Pinky Peerni.
Imran is a victim of his narrative. All his life he has been known as the lady killer or playboy but he preferred to choose the slogan of “Riyasat-e-Madina” for his politics. He introduced the slogan of “Naya Pakistan” but he became Prime Minister by riding on the shoulders of military establishments following in the footsteps of the likes of Nawaz Sharif and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
