Pakistan will have two First Ladies after the election of Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister.
Shehbaz married Nusrat Shehbaz in 1973. They had four children, Salman, Hamza and twin sisters, Javeria and Rabia In 2003, Shehbaz married his second wife Tehmina Durrani.
Durrani’s early life
Tehmina Durrani is well-known author, women’s and children’s rights activist. She is known for her first book, “My Feudal Lord” first released in 1991, which shocked Pakistani society because of the sensational exposure of her politically famous husband Ghulam Mustafa Khar.
Tehmina Durrani, born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, is the daughter of a former Governor of State Bank of Pakistan and managing director of Pakistan International Airlines, Shahkur Ullah Durrani.
Tehmina Durrani’s paternal grandfather was Major Muhammad Zaman Durrani. Her mother, Samina Durrani, is the daughter of Nawab Sir Liaqat Hayat Khan, the prime minister of the former princely state of Patiala. At aged seventeen, Tehmina Durrani married Anees Khan. They had one daughter together and divorced in 1976.
My feudal Lord
Durrani later married Ghulam Mustafa Khar, a former Chief Minister and Governor of Punjab. Khar had been married five times before. Durrani and Khar had four children. After being abused by Khar for several years, she ended her marriage of fourteen year in divorce.
In 1991, Durrani wrote an autobiography titled ‘My Feudal Lord’ alleging abuse by Khar. She argued in that feudal landlords, like Khar, are responsible for silencing women in society. As a reaction to her expository book, her family on both the paternal and maternal sides disowned her for thirteen years.
As no publisher was willing to take the liability th controversial book, she initially printed it herself, and after it became a hot seller. My Feudal Lord has been translated into 40 languages and has received many awards.
Other activities
After years of political exposure and in her struggle against corruption, Durrani met noted humanitarian, Abdul Sattar Edhi. She moved in with the Edhi family and spent three years serving at Edhi Homes in Mithadar, Sorab Goth, and Kharadar, Karachi. She also got his permission to author his autobiography.
In 1994, ‘A Mirror to the Blind’, Mr. Edhi’s official ‘narrated’ autobiography, was endorsed and published by the Edhi Foundation.
Marriage to Shehbaz
In 2003, Durrani married thrice-elected Chief Minister of Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif. They were married in a private ceremony in Dubai. Durrani resides in Lahore with her husband
Acid attacks activist
Since 2005, Durrani has supported the social rehabilitation of women. In 2001, Durrani cared for Fakhra Younus, a former wife of Bilal Khar, the son of Khar from another marriage.
Younus had been attacked with acid, allegedly by her husband. Durrani’s arrangements to take Younus abroad captured media attention. Younus was denied a passport to leave Pakistan but under public pressure was later allowed to leave.
Durrani engaged an Italian cosmetics firm and the government of Italy to treat Younus. On 17 March 2012, Younus committed suicide in Italy and was buried in Karachi.
Her third book, Blasphemy (1998), was successful but also controversial. In the novel she describes the secret lives of the Muslim clergy and spiritual leaders. The book also made it into Pakistan’s best-seller list.
