LAHORE: Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan, has voiced concerns about her incarcerated husband’s security and safety, saying he “can be poisoned” in Attock jail.
In a letter written to the Punjab home secretary, the former first lady said the court had directed authorities concerned to shift his husband to Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. “My husband has been imprisoned in Attock jail without any justification. According to the law, my husband should be transferred to Adiala jail,” she added.
Former PM Khan was jailed earlier this month after the court sentenced him to three-year in prison in the Toshakhana case related to the sale of state gifts that he received as prime minister from foreign dignitaries during his 2018-22 tenure.
Consequently, he was also barred from politics for five years.
In the letter today, the ousted premier’s wife demanded that the PTI chief be provided B-class facilities in the prison given his social and political status as he is an “Oxford graduate and former captain of the national cricket team”.
She went on to say that such facilities are not available in Attock jail which her husband is entitled to.
Bushra further said two assassination attempts were made on Khan’s life in the past and the accused involved had not been arrested yet.
“His [Imran Khan] life is still in danger [and] there is a fear that my husband will be poisoned in Attock jail,” she stated in the letter.
She said being a former PM of the country, her husband should be allowed to eat home-cooked food at the prison.
Highlighting the jail manual, the former first lady said all facilities were to be provided to Khan within 48 hours but they had not been provided even after the passage of 12 days.
“According to the jail rules, my husband has the right to undergo a medical examination by a private doctor,” she said, demanding inquiry for not providing facilities to the PTI chief as per the jail manual.
Last week, the PTI Core Committee also expressed similar concerns that party chief Khan could suffer from “slow-poisoning” and demanded that arrangements should be made to instantly provide him home-made food and water, The News had reported.
The committee meeting strongly condemned the “inordinate delay” to allow the ex-premier to receive food and water from home even in the face of the possibility that he could suffer from slow poisoning in food.
Khan, 70, has been at the centre of political turmoil since he was ousted last year as prime minister in a no-confidence vote, raising concerns about Pakistan’s stability as it grapples with an economic crisis.
The ousted premier, who has denied any wrongdoing, was arrested at his Lahore house. –Agencies
