The Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved its verdict on a petition filed by ex-premier Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi seeking her transfer form her Banigala residence — which had been declared a sub-jail — to Adiala Jail, where her husband is incarcerated.
Although the petition had been disposed of last month due to the former first lady’s lawyers failing to appear before the court, a plea was filed the same day seeking its restoration.The former first lady was taken into custody on January 31 after an Islamabad accountability court sentenced her and Imran to 14 years in jail in the Toshakhana reference.
While the IHC had on April 1 suspended their sentences in the Toshakhana reference, she remains in custody in the Iddat case. Imran also remains incarcerated in other cases.
Following the Toshakhana verdict, Bushra had arrived at Adiala Jail, where the National Accountability Bureau’s team was already present, to surrender to the authorities. Subsequently, she was taken into custody by the anti-graft watchdog.
However, she was moved to her Banigala home after it was declared a sub-jail in a late-night notification. Her shifting to the residence has been under discussion for weeks as she and her husband denied submitting any application to declare the residence a sub-jail.
Almost a week after her arrest, Bushra Bibi had challenged the residence’s status as a sub-jail, urging the IHC to let her complete her 14-year sentence in Adiala Jail.In a subsequent hearing, the Adiala Jail administration had opposed moving her back to the prison, claiming that overcrowding posed security threats for the former first lady.
In March, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb had asked if the authorities sought permission from Imran before converting his Banigala residence into a sub-jail.Justice Aurangzeb presided over the hearing today, during which lawyer Usman Gill appeared as Bushra Bibi’s counsel.
At the outset of the hearing, Justice Aurangzeb asked Bushra Bibi’s counsel about what cases she had been indicted in and when.Gill replied that his client was indicted in the Toshakhana and Iddat cases. “In both cases, the trial was carried out illegally,” Gill contended.
