LAHORE: Mubashra Khawar Maneka, daughter of Bushra Bibi, on Monday withdrew her petition from the Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking permission to meet her incarcerated mother, after the court upheld objections over its territorial jurisdiction.
The plea, filed on January 16, had sought directions for allowing Maneka to meet Bushra Bibi, the wife of jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, who is currently imprisoned at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
During the hearing, Justice Farooq Haider sustained objections raised by the court registrar’s office, which had questioned the maintainability of the petition and advised the petitioner to approach the Rawalpindi bench of the LHC instead of its principal seat in Lahore. The judge observed that the plea was not maintainable before the Lahore bench due to jurisdictional limitations.
Following the court’s observation, Maneka’s counsel withdrew the petition, after which Justice Haider disposed of the matter.
The petition, filed through Lahore High Court Bar Association President Malik Asif Nissoana, had named the inspector general of prisons, the superintendent of Adiala Jail and other relevant officials as respondents. It alleged that jail authorities had barred Maneka from meeting her mother without providing any written justification, despite her being a blood relative and Tuesday being the designated day for family meetings.
The plea had further expressed concern over Bushra Bibi’s physical, emotional and psychological well-being, arguing that the denial of visitation amounted to mala fide intent and misuse of authority by the jail administration. It had requested the court to issue directions for an immediate meeting between mother and daughter.
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 relates to the alleged purchase of an expensive jewellery set gifted to former prime minister Imran Khan by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2021.
