Former Punjab chief minister and former governor Ghulam Mustafa Khar has come under renewed discussion on social media, following the resurfacing of allegations made by his former wife and well-known writer Tehmina Durrani in her book My Feudal Lord.
A writer active on Facebook, known for sharing posts about historical and political figures, recently highlighted excerpts from Tehmina Durrani’s book, reopening public debate around claims made in the memoir.
Published in 1991, My Feudal Lord details Tehmina Durrani’s account of her marriage to Ghulam Mustafa Khar. In the book, she describes her marital life as marked by alleged physical abuse, sexual violence, and misuse of power. She writes that Khar’s behaviour included verbal abuse and violent conduct, which she claims was not limited to her alone.
According to the book, Tehmina Durrani alleged that Khar had an inappropriate relationship with her younger sister, Adila. She further claimed that when she objected, she was subjected to severe physical violence. These allegations are presented as personal experiences in her memoir.
Tehmina Durrani wrote that she married Ghulam Mustafa Khar in 1976, at a time when he already had another wife. She claimed that Khar used his political influence to secure her divorce from her previous husband before marrying her. The marriage lasted for around 13 years, during which they had four children. The couple separated in 1989, when Tehmina Durrani sought a divorce.
Ghulam Mustafa Khar is widely known for having multiple marriages, with reports stating that he married eight times.
The allegations mentioned are based solely on claims made in Tehmina Durrani’s book. Ghulam Mustafa Khar has denied these accusations on different occasions in the past.
Despite this, My Feudal Lord is often regarded as an important work highlighting issues of feudal power, abuse of authority, and violence against women in Pakistan, and it sparked widespread debate when it was first published.
