Wife of former Pakistani PM Imran Khan freed from jail on bail

ISLAMABAD (AA) – Pakistani authorities have released Bushra Bibi, the wife of imprisoned opposition figurehead Imran Khan from jail, a day after a court in Islamabad granted her bail in a case involving the purchase and illegal sale of state gifts.

“Bushra Bibi has been released from Adiala Jail” in Rawalpindi, Sardar Muhammad Masroof Khan, former assistant attorney general and lawyer for Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, told the media in Islamabad.

Earlier on Wednesday, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb of the Islamabad High Court granted Bushra Bibi post-arrest bail and ordered her release.

She is facing two “Toshakhana cases,” which involve the purchase and illegal sale of state gifts.

The former first lady was arrested in late January this year after an Islamabad accountability court sentenced Imran Khan and his wife to 14 years in prison in a case involving the purchase and illegal sale of state gifts received by the couple from foreign countries during Khan’s nearly four-year tenure as prime minister.

In addition, the two were sentenced to seven years in prison for violating the Islamic code during their marriage in 2018.

In April, the IHC suspended their sentences in the foreign gifts case but they remain in custody in several other cases.

In July, a local court also suspended sentences and acquitted Khan and his wife for violating Islamic marriage law.

Khan, 72, however, is currently jailed in Rawalpindi and seeking bail on multiple cases ranging from corruption to terrorism, all of which he denies. Courts have already set aside two of his convictions and suspended the third one.

The former prime minister was ousted from power through a no-confidence vote in April 2022 because of poor performance while in power, including bringing the country to near financial collapse.