Serious threat to Imran's life in jail, Bushra Bibi informs SC

PTI chief's wife urges apex court to take notice of 'considerable decline' in Imran's health in prison

ISLAMABAD:

Former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi on Friday urged the Supreme Court (SC) to take “serious notice” of the alleged threat to her husband’s life, citing “considerable decline” in his health in prison.

Bushra submitted an affidavit a day after the apex court had ordered Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan to file by August 28 a report on the living conditions of former prime Imran in the Attock District Jail cell where he has been languishing since his conviction on Aug 5.

A three-member special bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial had issued the directive while hearing the PTI chief’s appeal against an Aug 4 order of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

During the hearing, the CJP inquired about the conditions in which Imran lived in the jail. “An official written response regarding his living conditions in the jail should be given,” he said.

Read SC seeks report on Imran’s jail life

The chief justice said the federal government should also provide a written response about the facilities being provided to the PTI chairman.

The former first lady made the request in an affidavit submitted to the apex court through Advocate Syed Rifaqat Hussain Shah, after meeting Imran in Attock jail on Aug 22.

In the affidavit, Bushra stated that she was allowed to meet Imran “after unwarranted delays and difficulties” on Tuesday.

The document added that “during the course of the meeting, the petitioner expressed his determination to stand for the Constitution and the rule of law in Pakistan and to offer any sacrifice and suffer any privation or hardship for his beloved country”.

She also highlighted that there’s a “significant decline in the petitioner’s health” and that he “appears to have lost weight substantially during the course of his confinement, particularly loss of muscles around his arms”.

“Such a decline in the health of a person in his 70s can be a serious danger to his life,” it stated. She concluded by urging the SC to take notice of Imran’s deteriorating health and the serious threats to his life in prison.

Read more Bushra Bibi fears for Imran’s safety

Bushra had raised similar concerns in a letter to the Punjab government last week, in which she said that she fears that her husband could be “poisoned” in Attock jail.

On Aug 5, an Islamabad trial court convicted Imran in a case pertaining to concealing details of state gifts and sentenced him to three years in prison.

Soon after the verdict, he was arrested by the Punjab police from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore and taken to the prison in Attock.