If the intention of Bushra Bibi was to rally the troops, so to speak, to come out in full support of the November 24 protest call given by her husband, Imran Khan, then it backfired. However, if the intention was to create a distraction away from the main objective of a successful November 24 protest, then it was a hugely successful ploy.
First of all, several basic questions need to be asked (and these are being asked by fervent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters and admirers of Imran Khan as well, including some close confidantes):
Who decided that Bushra Bibi should issue a video message at all in the first place?
Who vetted its content, given that the former prime minister himself is in jail, and it is unlikely that he would have seen it first?
Why did Bushra Bibi, in her infinite wisdom, think that this was the right time to tell PTI supporters something that she herself said had never been told to them before - i.e. the very serious allegation that the Saudi government was behind the ouster of her husband's government because he was trying to bring Sharia to Pakistan and they were trying to disassociate from it in their own land? If all this was not her own idea, then whose was it?
Did she or they not foresee the severe damage this would do to Pakistan's relations with Saudi Arabia and, more so, in particular, to the PTI and Imran Khan's cause? In fact, immediately following the release of the video message on PTI's official X/Twitter handle, there were many PTI supporters who were questioning why, even if true, were such allegations being aired at a time when the focus should have been on the November 24 protest, or why was Bushra Bibi - who isn't a politician by any stretch of the imagination - making such controversial statements?
Let's not forget that there is also the controversy of several very valuable items gifted by the Crown Prince to the former prime minister and his wife, and which later became the basis of the Toshakhana case against the latter
Of course, one explanation could be - and it's indirectly echoed by some PTI leaders - that this was done deliberately to sow dissension and confusion in the PTI rank and file. Also, in this context, one cannot ignore the recent statements by Imran Khan's sister, Aleema Khan, who has spoken somewhat disparagingly of her brother's wife and said that the party is her brother's and not of some 'peerni' or faith healer.
A day after Bushra Bibi's video message scorched the interwebs, most of the narrative on social media moved away from the planned protest and concentrated on debates and analysis of what she said and why she may have said it. There is also the question of how will such wild and unproven allegations against a friendly and brotherly country, aired in public by the spouse of a former prime minister, will be seen in Riyadh and by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman. And let's not forget that there is also the controversy of several very valuable items gifted by the Crown Prince to the former prime minister and his wife, and which later became the basis of the Toshakhana case against the latter.
The allegations also involved former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who has responded by saying that there was no truth whatsoever in the claims and that no call was received from any official in Saudi Arabia complaining about Imran Khan and his government. For Bushra Bibi to publicly drag a former army chief in this controversy, and that too at a time when her husband is saying that he is ready to talk to the powers that be, and has even, in fact, authorised two of his party's senior leaders for the talks (if they materialise), would ensure that Imran Khan remains in jail for foreseeable future.