Former first lady challenges home detention, seeks jail transfer

By Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: Bushra Bibi, the wife of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, filed a petition on Tuesday in the Islamabad High Court seeking to be moved from her home, which has been declared a sub-jail, to the Adiala Jail where her husband is being held.

Bibi and Khan were convicted last week in two separate cases of corruption and illegal marriage. They were sentenced to 14 and 21 years in prison respectively.

The government issued a notification on Sunday night turning Khan’s Banigala residence into a sub-jail for Bibi at the request of the jail superintendent, citing security reasons.

The move sparked speculation of a possible deal between the government and the couple. But Khan denied any such deal and said he and his wife did not want any leniency.

Bibi also claimed that she was contacted indirectly by the military establishment, which has been accused of meddling in politics, but she refused to engage with them.

In her petition, Bibi said she wanted to serve her sentence like any other convict in the Adiala Jail and challenged the notification declaring her home a sub-jail as unlawful and discriminatory.

She said she did not feel safe in the sub-jail and feared for her security due to the presence of unidentified people around her residence. She also said that transferring her from Banigala to the court for the hearing of another case against her on Feb. 10 would be a hassle.

She requested the court to set aside the notification and order her transfer to the Adiala Jail in the interest of justice.

“The impugned notification goes against the principles of justice and equality as provided under Islam whereby each and every citizen is to be afforded equal treatment and no individual is superior to another or is to be given preferential treatment,” the petition said.

“In light of the facts and circumstances enumerated hereinabove, it is most humbly prayed that the impugned notification dated Jan 31 may be graciously set aside and the petitioner may be shifted to Adiala Jail to serve her sentence in the interest of justice.”