Pakistan: Imran Khan 'can be poisoned' in Attock jail, says wife Bushra

Imran Khan's life is still in danger and he can be poisoned in Attock jail, his wife Bushra Bibi has said as she demanded better prison facilities for the incarcerated former Pakistan Prime Minister.

In her letter to the Punjab home secretary on Saturday (August 19), the 49-year-old wife of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman wrote that the court had directed the authorities concerned to shift her husband from Attock jail in Punjab to Adiala prison in Rawalpindi.

“My husband has been imprisoned in Attock jail without any justification. According to the law, my husband should be transferred to Adiala jail,” she said.

She demanded that the 70-year-old PTI chief be provided B-class facilities in the prison given his social and political status, Geo News reported.

Bushra said Khan "can be poisoned" in Attock jail, the report said.

She said two assassination attempts have been made on Khan’s life and those involved in them are yet to be arrested.

“His life is still in danger [and] there is a fear that my husband will be poisoned in Attock jail,” she wrote in the letter.

Earlier this month, Bushra met her husband for half an hour, and after seeing Khan, had said that he was being kept in "distressing" conditions and provided “C-Class jail facilities”.

Khan, the cricketer-turned-politician, was arrested from his Lahore house shortly after an Islamabad trial court found him guilty of “corrupt practices” in the Toshakhana corruption case and has been incarcerated since August 5.

He was sentenced on charges of unlawfully selling state gifts acquired by him and his family during his 2018-2022 tenure.

Khan has also been barred from politics for five years, preventing him from contesting an upcoming election. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Bushra said in her letter that Khan should be allowed to eat home-cooked food at the prison.

She said as per the jail rules Khan should have been provided all the facilities within 48 hours but has not had access to them even after over 12 days.

“According to the jail rules, my husband has the right to undergo a medical examination by a private doctor,” she said, demanding an inquiry into why Khan has been denied better facilities.

Bushra also faces corruption charges. The third spouse of Khan is a spiritual healer known for her devotion to Sufism, a form of Islamic mysticism which emphasises love.

Last week, the PTI Core Committee expressed similar concerns over Khan's "slow-poisoning" and demanded that he should be allowed to have home-cooked food and water, The News newspaper reported.

The committee meeting strongly condemned the "inordinate delay" in providing better facilities in jail to the former prime minister.

(With agency inputs)