Bushra Bibi fears PTI chief could be ‘poisoned’ in Attock jail

Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, has expressed concern that he may be poisoned while in prison.

The PTI chief was convicted of concealing details of state gifts and sentenced to three years in prison on August 5. He was arrested by the Punjab police from his residence in Lahore and taken to District Jail Attock the same day.

Imran Khan’s lawyer, Naeem Haider Panjutha, who was allowed to meet him by the Islamabad High Court (IHC), had criticized the conditions in which his client is being held. He said Imran was being kept in a small, dark room with no shower.

“He said the jail has flies in the morning and insects in the evening,” Panjutha had said.

Bushra Bibi said she is worried that her husband may be poisoned because he is a high-profile figure who has been critical of the government. She called on the jail authorities to ensure that Imran’s food is safe to eat and that he is not subjected to any harm.

In a letter dated August 17, addressed to the Punjab home department, Bushra Bibi sought the ex-PM’s transfer from District Jail Attock to Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail and expressed fear he could be poisoned in lock-up.

According to the letter, the life of the ex-prime minister was in danger as “he was previously attacked twice whereby once he was hit by bullets shots (sic) on his body.”

“Moreover it is apprehended that he may be poisoned in the jail through food as the ones responsible and perpetrators of previous attacks are still at large and have not been captured by the law enforcement agencies,” Bushra feared.

She questioned her husband’s detention at Attock jail, citing the lack of apparent justification.

The letter highlighted that Imran was eligible for B-Class facilities within the jail premises for several reasons. These reasons encompass his “leadership as the former captain of Pakistan’s national cricket team, his distinguished status as an alumnus of Oxford University in the UK, and his past role as the prime minister of Pakistan.”

She pointed out that it was against the jail rules to “keep the person of my husband’s stature at a place which lacks even the very basic amenities.”

Bushra wrote that her husband was not even allowed homemade food, “which is against the rules and in violation of fundamental rights.”