Pre-arrest bail for Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi till Sep 12 in graft cases

Bushra Bibi is named in multiple graft cases, including the Toshakhana and Al-Qadir University Trust cases.

A Pakistani court granted pre-arrest bail to Bushra Bibi, wife of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, till September 12 in multiple graft cases. Bushra Bibi appeared before the court in Islamabad along with her lawyers Latif Khosa and Intizar Hussain Panjutha. The court approved her bail plea against a surety bond of ₹500,000, local media reported. Bushra Bibi is named in multiple graft cases, including the Toshakhana and Al-Qadir University Trust cases.

Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi are seen.

The development came after the Islamabad High Court suspended Imran Khan's three-year prison term in the Toshakhana corruption case. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief was arrested earlier this month in the Toshakhana case and was sentenced to three years in prison. He is currently lodged in Attock jail in Punjab province and is due to appear on Wednesday before a special court constituted to hear cases pertaining to the Official Secrets Act (Amendment) 2023 in connection with the cipher case.

The court suspended Imran Khan's recent conviction on corruption charges, his lawyer Naeem Panjutha said, but it will not lead to his release as a judge has ordered his detention in another case. The former prime minister was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote of confidence in April 2022 following which his relations with Pakistan's powerful generals have deteriorated badly.

"The sentence has been suspended," Naeem Panjutha said on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, adding, “God be praised.”

Imran Khan's top aide, former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has also been arrested in the same case.

Imran Khan faces dozens of cases, including charges of abetment to murder and orchestrating violent protests that followed his initial arrest in May. He has denied all the charges.