Bibi Jan’s grave is also known as Beejo Qabar in Pashto and is located inside the Durrani Graveyard near Wazir Bagh, just outside the walled city of Peshawar. Bibi Jan was a royal consort at the court of Timur Shah Durrani, who ruled the Durrani Empire from 1772 till his death in 1793.
Local cultural activist and expert Dr Sallah-ud-din, referring to several books on the heritage of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, tells me that there are several historical graveyards in and around Peshawar – harking back to various noble and influential houses of the past. Amongst these, the Durrani Graveyard is one of the most well-known.
Dr. Sallah-ud-din tells me that this site was probably near the summer capital of Timur Shah Durrani and later, most of his family members had been buried in this graveyard. The most visible and popular mausoleum in this graveyard is the mausoleum of Bibi Jan, beloved of the Durrani ruler.
It is deeply shocking when one sees a deep ditch inside the tomb which was built by Timur Shah Durrani in honour of his beloved consort
I walk inside the tomb to see the damaged portion. The mausoleum has two doors, which have been permanently sealed with a mud wall. A set of steps stand towards one of the windows on the north side.
Inside the mausoleum there is nothing and the grave has been dug up by robbers in search of valuable remains.
It is deeply shocking when one sees a deep ditch inside the tomb which was built by Timur Shah Durrani in honour of his beloved consort.
Amjad Hussain, US-based cardiovascular surgeon and notable historian, narrates in his book Culture of Peshawar that Bibi Jan lived near Wazir Bagh more than two hundred years ago and that, moreover, she was much loved by Timur Shah Durrani. According to him, Bibi Jan and King Timur were in love, something the first queen strongly opposed. It is said that the first queen of the King was extremely jealous towards the lovely Bibi Jan, who was going to become the second wife of Timur Shah Durrani.
The first queen referred to Bibi Jan as Beejo (Monkey) in hatred. Hence her grave later came to be known as Beejo’s Grave by her opponents.
When Timur Shah was out in the gardens (now Shahi Bagh) in Peshawar, the queen ordered Bibi Jan to drink a special drink, which was poisoned by the queen. When Bibi Jan approached Timur Shah outside, there were visible symptoms of poison on her face and eyes. Timur Shah was devastated and after Bibi Jan’s demise, he buried her in his ancestral burial grounds.
Amjad Hussain states that King Timur was the one who had the mausoleum constructed over her grave out of love. “The reason it was not decorated or even plastered by the king could be either the death of the king or something which will never be known,” he writes.
The recent horrific vandalisation of Bibi Jan’s last resting place is not the first time that such activities have happened here. In fact, the Durrani Graveyard also holds the desecrated grave of Sardar Muhammad Ayub Khan, the victor of the famed Battle of Maiwand. A number of relics were stolen from Ayub Khan’s grave in 2010.
Locals move about freely in the family graveyard and Bibi’s burial site. Upon asking, they narrate the love story of Bibi and the king much like a favourite bedtime tale – easy to read and taking on each person’s tenor.
The archaeology department is responsible for the preservation of this historical site. But on the surface it seems all but abandoned.
Local people say that a large number of visitors come here to see this graveyard and one old mosque, that of Sheikh Habib Baba. They say that they used to offer prayers in the mosque built in the Durrani era within the graveyard and most of the elders of this area are familiar with the story of Bibi Jan – narrated to them by their forefathers.
The locals tell me, also, that Bibi Jan’s mausoleum was in a better state once, and that it used to be visited by foreign tourists in the past.
When I ask Abdul Samad, Director of the Archeology and Museums Department in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa regarding renovation and repair work, he says that they hope to complete the renovation work at the earliest but that unfortunately this land belongs to the Auqaf (Religious affairs) department. He indicates that any hurdles are from that side. He goes on to inform me that his department have conveyed to them the need to hire experts from the Archeology Department and complete the work at its expense. But still the work has not been started, and he puts this down to “delay tactics”. He says that if the Auqaf Department issues a NOC (No Objection Certificate) to them, they will complete the work in the upcoming ADP.
As I inspect the desecrated grave of Bibi Jan, I notice that there were two small monuments inside the grave, reportedly for Bibi Jan’s beloved birds – which she asked at the time of her to death were to be buried near to her grave.