Pakistan court grants bail to Imran Khan’s wife in state repository case

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan (C) with his wife Bushra Bibi (L) arrive to appear at a high court in Lahore on May 15, 2023. (AFP/File)

• Bushra Bibi faced the allegation of illegally retaining an expensive jewelry set from a state repository
• PTI says there are no other charges against her, though trial court judges are not there to sign her release

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday approved bail for former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, in a case involving allegations of illegally retaining a jewelry set from a state repository, though it remains unclear if she will be released from prison.
Both Khan and his wife, currently in jail, face numerous charges, including the illegal sale of gifts worth more than Rs140 million ($501,000) during his 2018-2022 premiership from a state repository known locally as the “Toshakhana.”
Bibi’s bail has been approved in another case, referred to as the new Toshakhana reference, which relates to the possession of a jewelry set comprising a ring, bracelet, necklace and earrings gifted to the former first lady by a foreign dignitary. The couple allegedly undervalued the set and retained it at a lower price.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said there were no other charges against her, expressing hope for her release after a single-member IHC bench headed by Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb granted her bail and approved it against a surety bond of Rs1 million ($3,600).
“For detailed reasons to be recorded, the instant petition is accepted and the petitioner is admitted to post-arrest bail subjecting to her furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs1,000,000 with two sureties in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned trial court,” Justice Aurangzeb stated on Wednesday.
Khan and his wife secured a district and sessions court order for immediate release in July after it accepted their appeals in another case challenging a ruling that they had violated the country’s marriage law.
The couple had been sentenced to seven years in prison and fined in February by a court that ruled their 2018 marriage violated the law. Bibi was accused of not completing the waiting period mandated by Islam, known as “Iddat,” after divorcing her previous husband and marrying Khan.
At that time, two of Khan’s convictions had been suspended by the court, and he had been acquitted in a third case, leaving the Iddat case as the only one keeping him in prison.
However, just hours after the local court’s verdict in their favor, the new Toshakhana case was filed by Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau, and the former prime minister and his wife were re-arrested, ruling out the possibility of their release from jail.
Following the IHC’s order on Wednesday, the PTI announced that trial court judges were unavailable to sign Bibi’s release order, adding that both judges were apparently taking the day off.
Khan’s convictions disqualified him from the February 8 general elections, as convicted individuals cannot run for public office under Pakistani law.
Arguably the country’s most popular politician, he claims that all cases against him are politically motivated to prevent his return to politics.