ISLAMABAD: Pakistan authorities Thursday released Bushra Bibi, wife of jailed former PM Imran Khan, from prison in Rawalpindi, a day after Islamabad high court granted her bail in an alleged graft case involving purchase and sale of state gifts.
Bibi, 50, was arrested on January 31. She and her husband were convicted of corruption and illegal marriage just ahead of the Feb 8 polls in Pakistan.The Islamabad-based accountability court had sentenced the couple to 14 years in jail in what is known as the “toshakhana” (state repository) case.
The case over allegations of illegal marriage had collapsed on appeal and Bibi’s graft sentence was suspended in July, allowing her to walk free from Adiala Jail where Imran remains imprisoned.
She was, however, arrested again in a fresh graft case. In the new case, dubbed as “Toshakhana 2,” the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had accused the couple of retaining an expensive Bvlgari jewellery set gifted by a foreign leader at a low price, causing a significant loss to the national exchequer. The gift set included a necklace, earrings, bracelets, and rings.
A day earlier, HC judge Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb approved Bushra’s bail in the case, following which a special court issued her release orders, ending nearly nine months of her detention. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) hailed her release, with slogans of “welcome back Bushra Bibi.”
“You have faced extremely difficult times, disgusting campaigns and character assassination attempts against you during your illegal time in jail. The Pakistani nation salutes your bravery,” PTI said in a post on X, confirming that Bibi had reached her Bani Gala residence in the federal capital.
Meanwhile, the Islamabad HC on Thursday also ordered the jail administration to produce Imran by 3pm in court to facilitate his meeting with his lawyers. “I know you won’t implement my orders, but let me issue directions,” Justice Ijaz Ishaq Khan remarked during the hearing. The judge later softened his stance after jail authorities assured him that they would arrange Imran’s meeting with his counsels in prison.
Imran and his party have been at crosshairs of an ongoing tussle between the executive and the judiciary, with the latter accusing the country’s powerful military and intelligence agencies of exerting pressure to secure favourable verdicts in political cases, particularly those involving the PTI chief.
Imran has not physically appeared in a court since Aug last year, with all hearings being held in the high-security Rawalpindi prison.