Ex-Pak PM Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi seeks suspension of sentence on medical grounds

Islamabad: Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan, is seeking suspension of the sentence in the Al-Qadir Trust case on medical grounds, according to local media reports.

An application has been submitted to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) regarding the same, reported the leading Pakistani newspaper, The Express Tribune, on Sunday.

Bushra Bibi had eye surgery at a private hospital in Rawalpindi this week. As per the jail authorities, she was transferred to a private facility for the procedure, which was performed by retina specialist Dr Nadeem Qureshi at Al Shifa Eye Hospital.

After spending one night there, she was discharged and returned to Adiala Jail. Officials mentioned that follow-up examinations will be conducted according to medical advice.

The application also requested the IHC to summon the head of the Ophthalmology Department at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi, the superintendent of jail and the deputy superintendent of jail with relevant documents relating to the surgery performed on Bushra Bibi, including the complete medical record, operation notes, diagnosis and treatment history.

“The Applicant be forthwith shifted to Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi, for proper postoperative treatment under continuous medical supervision, and that the concerned jail authorities be directed to ensure regular, meaningful, and unhindered access to the Applicant’s counsel and family members in accordance with law and prior judicial directions”, the application read.

Bushra Bibi’s counsel, Salman Safdar, has moved an application to explain her health condition amid the hearing on the plea seeking suspension of Imran’s and Bushra Bibi’s sentence, which will resume on April 22, by the IHC division bench led by Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar.

Bushra Bibi is sentenced to a term of seven years, according to the report.

The application added that Bushra Bibi has been “subjected to prolonged incarceration, repeated delays in adjudication of her application for suspension of sentence, continued denial of access to counsel, and now serious medical deterioration culminating in a surgical procedure conducted under undisclosed circumstances.”

According to the application, Bushra Bibi’s appeal has remained pending for more than a year, and her continued detention would serve “no useful purpose” and “cause perpetuating irreparable harm”, stated the application.

The application stated that the family members of Bushra Bibi were “abruptly and informally informed by the jail authorities that the applicant had undergone an eye surgery due to certain complications”.

“It is a matter of serious concern and grave alarm that neither the counsel nor any member of the Applicant’s family was informed or consulted prior to the said medical procedure, nor was any prior disclosure ever made regarding any deterioration in the medical condition of the Applicant which could necessitate such a surgical intervention,” the application stated.

It further claimed that the entire medical procedure “appears to have been conducted in complete opacity, without adherence to basic standards of transparency and without affording the Applicant the benefit of consultation with her counsel or family.”

IANS