A file photo of former Pakistan PM Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi.
| Photo Credit: AP
Jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi was reportedly given at least two to three drops of “toilet cleaner” mixed in an Iftar meal, her spokesperson said on April 25.
The cleaner was allegedly mixed with her food on Shab-e-Barat on February 24.
“We found out that two or three drops of toilet cleaner were added to Bushra Bibi’s Iftar meal,” the spokesperson of Ms. Bibi, Mashal Yousafzai, was quoted as saying by the Geo news.
She claimed that after consuming the meal, her health deteriorated and it was getting worse every day.
Mr. Khan, 71, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has many times claimed that Ms. Bushra Bibi, 49, was given food mixed with toilet cleaner.
The spokesperson said before her arrest, she did not have any problems, including blood pressure and diabetes.
“Since her arrest, Bushra Bibi’s health has deteriorated, something must have happened,” she said expressing her apprehension.
Ms. Bibi, convicted in two different cases, is being held at the Bani Gala home since the couple was sentenced in the ‘un-Islamic nikah’ case in February. The Bani Gala residence has been converted into a sub-jail for the former Prime Minister’s wife.
Ms. Yousafzai, also the advisor to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, questioned why Ms. Bibi’s medical tests were not conducted when the court had been directing the authorities for three weeks.
She also wondered who was preventing the authorities from conducting the medical tests.
“The court has directed [authorities] to conduct her endoscopy and blood test. Endoscopy revealed ulceration and inflammation in the stomach,” said Ms. Yousafzai.
She said despite the orders of the court, they did not let the former first lady get her blood tested. She said the PTI also asked that the blood test should be done by Al-Shifa Hospital and be cross-checked at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital.
She said, “The blood test could reveal whether the element of poison was present in her blood or not.” Ms. Yousafzai said a couple of days ago, Ms. Bibi had pain in her chest and left arm. The jail doctor did an ECG and it was not normal, she claimed.
The jail doctor said that she would go and inform the jail administration so that the doctors from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) could come and conduct her check-up, she said.
“The jail doctor went to inform the administration at 12 p.m. and came out at 5 p.m. While the PIMS doctor came at 11 p.m. in the night, due to us raising our voice,” she said, adding that after 11 p.m., Ms. Bibi had had another ECG.
She said there was a difference between the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz as Ms. Bibi was a housewife and not a politician.
“Bushra Bibi is targeted because she is the wife of the PTI founder,” she said.
Last week, a comprehensive medical evaluation of Ms. Bibi was performed under the observation of Mr. Khan’s family physician. The doctors at a private hospital declared Ms. Bibi, the former first lady, to be in good health.
The former first lady stayed at a private hospital in Islamabad for six hours for diagnostic tests, including endoscopy, but refused to undergo a blood test and did not provide a blood sample, sources told Geo news.
The hospital sources stated that Ms. Bibi also underwent, ultrasound, echo, and ECG tests, while during the check-up, Mr. Khan’s physician, Dr. Asim Yousuf, was also present.
The doctors, according to the sources, cleared all the medical reports of the former first lady. The hospital sources said that Mr. Khan’s wife only had a minor gastric issue.
