Jailed former Prime minister Imran Khan said on April 19, 2024, alleged his wife that his wife Bushra Bibi was given food laced with toilet cleaner. He also claimed that her health was deteriorating as she was battling a stomach infection daily after consuming poisoned food.
Bushra Bibi, aged 49 was recently convicted in a corruption case and as well as in the case of her illegal marriage with Imran Khan, 71 and is currently held in detention at their Bani Gala residence in the suburbs of Islamabad.
Imran Khan who is also a chief of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) made the allegations during a hearing of a corruption case in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, a Pakistani media agency reported. The Chief Medical Officer of Shaukat Khanum Hospital Dr Asim Yousaf had recommended conducting Bushra Bibi’s tests at the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad.
He alleged that the jail authorities were adamant about conducting the tests at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital, the Pakistan media reported. During the hearing, the judge asked Imran Khan not to give any press conferences while in custody. In response, Khan contended that he engages with journalists regularly as his statements are misquoted.
According to a report by a Pakistani national media agency, Bushra Bibi filed a petition before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on April 15, 2024 and requested the court to conduct her checkup and medical tests from Shaukat Khanum Hospital or any other private hospital of her choice to examine if she was poisoned through contaminated food.
In her petition, Bushra claimed she suffered from heartburn, aches in throat, mouth and she was being subjected to psychological torture in prison. She has also alleged that there are spy cameras all over the residence where she was confined. She complained that there is only one lady deputed in a sub-jail, while the rest of the staff are males and she faces discomfort in such an environment.
Imran Khan, who has been convicted in several other cases requested that he should be allowed a ten-minute interaction with the media after the hearings. On April 17, 2024, Khan alleged that the Pakistan Army Chief, General Asim Munir, was directly responsible for the imprisonment of Bushra Bibi. He also threatened Munir of dire consequences if anything happens to his wife.
“General Asim Munir is directly involved in the sentence awarded to my wife,” he said while adding that the judge who convicted her was forced to make the decision. “If anything happens to my wife, I will not leave Asim Munir. I will not leave Asim Munir as long as I am alive and I will expose his unconstitutional and illegal steps,” he further said.
