Twitter is displeased at the visit of First Lady Bushra Bibi to the Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH) during which she questioned the facility’s administration on the services they provided.
Video clips of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife’s visit to the government institute went viral, in which she asked an administrative official, who facilitated her visit, to procure a list of his targets for the development of PIMH. Bibi said to the official that he was newly appointed and should stay where he was to jot down the list while she toured PIMH’s old building.
Journalist Shama Junejo inquired what authority Bibi had to order around a government official. Junejo added that Bibi seemed interested in the topic of mental health but had perhaps caused a detrimental impact on the official’s health when she put him on the spot.
Several social media users echoed Junejo’s opinion and questioned the capacity in which Bibi made the demand.
One user wondered what medical authority Bibi had to question the medical official.
Another user wondered why Bushra Bibi was getting involved in politics as the first lady and asked if Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was ready to be rebuked on the matter. He questioned whether PTI loyalists would still say that they were indifferent to politics.
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A netizen countered the critique and said that Bibi’s visit was not an anomaly as she frequented similar institutes, but media never got a chance to cover those visits.
The PIMH incident wasn’t the first time Khan’s leading lady was questioned for her role in exercising political authority. Last year, Bibi visited the Baba Fariduddin Ganj Shakkar shrine in Pakpattan following which there were allegations that she had directed the holy site’s administrator and Auqaf manager to be removed from his job. Bibi was reportedly unsatisfied at the shrine’s arrangements and there were claims that she got several other shrine staff expelled as well.
