Islamabad, Oct 24 (EFE).- Pakistani authorities on Thursday released Bushra Bibi, the wife of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, following months of detention.
The former first lady was granted bail in a case concerning the alleged illicit sale of state gifts.
Bibi, arrested on Jan. 31, days before the general elections, had been sentenced alongside Khan to 14 years in prison by an Islamabad accountability court in the widely known Toshakhana case.
“Bushra Bibi finally released from Adyala Jail. Great day for (the) family and legal team on her home coming,” Barrister Salman Safdar, a counsel for Bibi wrote on X.
Bibi, a spiritual healer and Khan’s third wife, had been held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where the former prime minister is also imprisoned.
She was released after nearly nine months in custody, facing multiple legal cases, according to Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
The Islamabad High Court granted Bibi bail on Wednesday in the Toshakhana case, which involves the alleged undervaluing and illegal retention of a jewelry set gifted to her by a foreign dignitary. The couple allegedly kept the items at a significantly lower price than their actual value.
After their acquittal in an “illegal marriage” case, Khan and Bibi were arrested in a new case called Toshakhana 2.0 on July 13. Khan was also named in several cases of riots on May 9 last year.
In another legal twist, the court also ordered Adiala jail officials to produce Khan by 3 p.m. on Thursday to allow his lawyers to meet with him. Khan’s legal team had complained that prison authorities were obstructing their access to the former premier.
Khan, who has been behind bars since August last year, has yet to appear in court physically due to security concerns. All hearings in his cases have been conducted inside the prison.
His legal team continues to argue that the charges against him are politically motivated attempts to sideline him from politics.
On Wednesday, over 60 U.S. Congress members sent a letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to support democracy and human rights in Pakistan and to advocate for the release of political prisoners, including Khan. EFE
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