Bushra Bibi released, PTI denies deal

RAWALPINDI: Bushra Bibi, the wife of former prime minister Imran Khan, has been released from Adiala Jail after being granted bail in the Toshakhana-2 case.

Her release came after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) approved her bail, though Senator Faisal Vawda claimed that Bushra Bibi was released from jail as part of a deal. Additional security forces were deployed at the jail to ensure the safe departure of Bushra Bibi after her release. However, the process went smoothly without any protest or notable PTI presence. Bushra’s vehicle quickly exited through Gate No. 5 of the jail and was driven towards Bani Gala.

Bushra Bibi had been incarcerated for nine months after being sentenced to 14 years in prison in January 2024 in the original Toshakhana case. Her bail now offers temporary relief amid the ongoing allegations of corruption related to the sale of state gifts, received by her and her husband from foreign dignitaries. Her release represents a key moment in the legal proceedings surrounding the Toshakhana scandal. However, the case is still ongoing, and the legal battle is far from over.

The indictment proceedings for both Bushra Bibi and Imran Khan in the Toshakhana-2 case were postponed due to security concerns for Oct 26. Her release adds another layer to the high-profile legal drama involving her and her husband, but the focus now shifts to the upcoming indictment and the continuation of the Toshakhana case.

Earlier, Bushra’s counsel, Malik Tariq Mehmood Noon and Sohail Satti submitted surety bonds worth Rs1 million for her release. The trial court issued ‘Robkar’ (release orders) for Bushra Bibi after the submission of surety bonds.

Following her release, the PTI, in a post on X, welcomed her and said that she had faced difficult times. “Disgusting campaign [was run] and character assassination attempts against her illegal time in jail [were made]. The Pakistani nation salutes your bravery!” the party said in the message.

Immediately after her release from Adiala Jail, Bushra Bibi went to Bani Gala, where she stayed for a while before heading to Peshawar, where arrangements had already been made for her arrival at the Chief Minister’s House in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She would stay at CM House annexe, according to sources.

PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja announced on the social media platform X that Bushra Bibi would stay in Peshawar instead of Zaman Park in Lahore. According to party sources, Bushra Bibi is expected to undergo a medical examination at Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Peshawar and will likely meet KP CM Gandapur and other party leaders.

On Wednesday, a single IHC bench of Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard Bushra’s petition for post-arrest bail in the Toshakhana case. In his short order, the judge said, “The instant petition is accepted, and the petitioner is admitted to post-arrest bail subject to her furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs1,000,000 with two sureties in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned trial court.”

Earlier, Senator Faisal Vawda claimed that Bushra Bibi was released from jail as part of a pre-planned deal. “Bushra Bibi is being freed 100 per cent as part of a deal, and this is all part of the plan,” he said in an interview with a private TV channel on Thursday. Vawda also accused senior PTI leaders of conspiring against Imran Khan, stating, “The party leaders pushed Imran Khan into the fire.” He added that key figures like Ali Amin Gandapur had disappeared during critical moments.

The senator claimed that a majority of PTI members are siding with the government and deceiving the party’s founder. “They conspired against him, and Imran Khan knows they have sold out,” he said, adding that Imran Khan’s jail meetings will begin on October 27.

However, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan rejected claims about a deal, saying she was released on merit and stayed with the ideology of the PTI founder till her release. Talking to the media, he said today, with the grace of Allah, Bushra Bibi was released after nine months. Had there been a deal, she would not have been in jail for so many months. He expressed optimism that the PTI founder would also be released soon, God willing, claiming his release would be on merit from the courts.

Gohar made it clear that Bushra Bibi was not remotely related to Toshakhana and her name was not on Toshakhana’s list. He continued, that it was an excuse to keep her in jail, as they only wanted to exert pressure on Imran Khan this way. The PTI chairman said the PTI founder had faith in the courts. “We are struggling day and night for the PTI founder, this distance will end soon,” he added.

He was hopeful that Bushra Bibi’s release would help solve many problems, adding she would neither participate in any movement, nor she had ever taken in movement before. “We have never done politics of violence; only efforts are being made to defame the PTI; Insha-Allah all will fail and the PTI founder would be successful. Wrong messages are being spread to create a gap between Imran Khan and people,” he added.

About the amendment, Gohar said they did not accept the 26th constitutional amendment and challenged it in court.

Giving reaction to the release of Bushra Bibi, Adviser to Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah said he was not in favour of cases against Bushra Bibi and the sisters of the PTI founder. Expressing his thoughts to the foreign media outlet, he said: “It is normal for the political leaders to face cases. But I am against involving women in the cases.”

The PMLN leader praised JUIF chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, saying, “Maulana Fazlur Rehman has played a substantial role in line with the 26th constitutional amendment. The PTI had agreed on the draft of the constitutional amendment proposed by the JUIF. “The PTI has remained against the approval of the 26th constitutional amendment,” he stated.

About Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Sanaullah said: “Instead of the government the PTI played a bigger role in preventing the elevation of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s elevation.” He added: “Justice Mansoor Ali Shah is a competent judge but will not spearhead the constitutional bench.”

Meanwhile, PTI lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said that party founder chairman Imran Khan has only expressed regret over the passage of the 26th Amendment, but he offered no comment on Justice Yahya Afridi becoming the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). He explained that Imran Khan has instructed the party leadership to stay at the front and lead the workers and go with public sentiment.

Faisal was talking to the media outside the Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, after having a meeting with Imran along with PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and Shoaib Shaheen in the jail, on the orders of the Islamabad High Court.

He added that the PTI founder also inquired about Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s stand on the 26th Constitutional Amendment, and expressed concern over JUI-F’s vote in favour of the amendment.

The PTI lawyer said that Imran, while commenting on the passage of the amendment, said that democracy had been ‘derailed’ from the country and that there could be no democracy without the rule of law, dubbing it as an attack on the Constitution and judiciary.

Imran Khan, he continued, expressed his regret on the procedure of approval of the amendment and said that it was not a problem of a party or a personality, it is the people of Pakistan who had been wronged, so the people of Pakistan had the responsibility to stand against it, and it would happen, otherwise, such things would continue happening.

Faisal said that Imran was very calm after hearing the news of his wife’s release on bail and expressed his satisfaction. The senior lawyer strongly condemned the jail conditions in which Imran Khan had been kept.

The lawyers alleged, “He is locked in a six-by-eight cell for 24 hours, which is opened only for one and a half hours and he is taken out. Khan sahib says that he is not allowed to do any exercise.”

Speaking on the occasion, Shoaib Shaheen said that due to lack of access to the media, Imran was not aware of the approval of the 26th Constitutional Amendment and as a result of Justice Yahya Afridi becoming the chief justice.

The PTI leader said that Faisal Chaudhry and he would file a petition in the court against the treatment of the former prime minister in the jail and request the court to form a judicial commission in this regard and visit the Adiala Jail.