ISLAMABAD: Jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, has reached Peshawar after a brief stay at Bani Gala, the former prime minister’s residence in Islamabad.
Earlier today, she was released from Adiala Jail, nine months after being imprisoned alongside Imran Khan. She arrived at her Bani Gala residence shortly thereafter.
The release from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail comes a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted her bail against surety bonds worth Rs1 million in the new Toshakhana case.
Bushra Bibi reached the Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar, where she will hold a meeting with Ali Amin Gandapur and undergo a medical check-up at Shaukat Khanum Hospital.
Special Judge (Central) Shahrukh Arjumand issued the release orders after Bibi’s lawyers submitted the surety bond to the court.
Before the February polls, Bibi was convicted of graft and illegal marriage alongside opposition leader Khan, who claimed the charges were part of a campaign to sideline him from the electoral process. PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan asserted, “She was kept in jail to put pressure on Imran Khan.”
Expressing his support, Gohar stated, “I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all PTI supporters on the release of Bushra Bibi, and we offer our gratitude to Allah Almighty.” Sources within the party revealed that she changed her plans in the capital and would now travel to Peshawar based on PTI leadership’s recommendation.
Following the election, the illegal marriage case was dismissed on appeal, and Bibi’s graft sentence was suspended. The Islamabad High Court had granted bail to her in the new Toshakhana case on Wednesday, but her release was delayed due to the special judge’s unavailability to issue the order.
PTI lawyers had spent Wednesday attempting to submit the necessary surety bonds for her release, but the court adjourned before the process could be completed. Attempts to secure the release order from Administrative Judge Raja Jawad Abbas were also unsuccessful, as he had already left for the day.
Gohar noted that after her release, Bibi was headed home to the upscale Bani Gala neighborhood on the outskirts of Islamabad.
She was arrested on January 31, just one week before Pakistan’s polls.
“The cases brought against her were not only false and unjust, but also petty and morally questionable,” stated PTI supporter Aqsa Qasim, who was waiting outside her residence to welcome her. “It’s been a long time since we received any good news, but today we are here to welcome the wife of our leader, who was unjustly imprisoned.”
