ISLAMABAD: A United Nations (UN) expert on Wednesday warned that Bushra Bibi, the wife of former prime minister Imran Khan, is being “detained in circumstances that could pose a serious risk to her physical and mental integrity.”
Bushra Bibi is currently serving a seven-year sentence in the £190 million corruption case. She was also recently sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment in the Toshakhana-II case, which centres on the purchase of an expensive jewellery set gifted to Imran Khan by the Saudi crown prince during his May 2021 visit.
“The state has an obligation to protect Mrs Khan’s health and ensure conditions of detention compatible with human dignity,” said Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur, in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Earlier in May, the Adiala Jail administration submitted a detailed report to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), stating that Bushra Bibi was receiving a range of special facilities under the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978. These included medical care, private accommodation, and access to entertainment and legal resources.
According to the report, Bushra had been provided amenities aimed at ensuring her “health, comfort, and legal rights.”
She has access to a dedicated female medical officer who conducts twice-daily health checks. The report added that she has also been provided with a private, spacious room equipped with a cot, mattress, furniture, and climate-control facilities, including ceiling fans and an air cooler during summer.
The UN special rapporteur stressed that “conditions and locations of detention must take into account the age, gender, and health circumstances of detainees.”
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council and do not speak on behalf of the United Nations as an institution.
Edwards claimed that Bushra Bibi was “frequently placed in near-total isolation for more than 22 hours a day, sometimes for periods exceeding ten days, without access to exercise, reading material, legal counsel, family visits, or her personal physicians.”
She urged Pakistani authorities to ensure that the former first lady is able to communicate with her lawyers, receive family visits, and have meaningful human contact throughout her detention.
Earlier this month, the same UN special rapporteur warned that Imran Khan was being held in conditions that could amount to inhuman or degrading treatment, calling on Pakistani authorities to comply with international norms and standards.
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