The court adjourned the hearing of the May 9 cases until August 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Monday (August 12, 2024) rejected the bail application of Bushra Bibi, the wife of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in 12 cases related to the violence on May 9, 2023.

Anti-terrorism court Judge Malik Ejaz Asif after hearing the plea of Bushra Bibi said that a thorough investigation was required in her case and subsequently dismissed the bail application. The judge also ordered that the investigation in her case should be completed in seven days.

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Mr. Khan and Ms. Bushra were present in the court along with dozens of other accused who have been named as suspects in the May 9 violence, which erupted when the former Prime Minister was detained by authorities in Islamabad.

The court later adjourned the hearing of the May 9 cases until August 22, 2024.

Mr. Khan (71) has been imprisoned at the Adiala Jail for more than a year now upon his conviction in multiple cases. His wife, 49-year-old Ms. Bushra, is also jailed along with him.

Mr. Khan faces over 200 cases and has been convicted in a few. Though the former-cricketer-turned-politician had secured bail or his conviction was set aside, he has not been released.

Bushra Bibi, left, with her husband and Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran, right. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Bushra Bibi, the wife of jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, has been named as a suspect in 11 cases, including the attack on the army headquarters on May 9 last year, the Rawalpindi district police informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on July 30.

The Rawalpindi police presented a report in the IHC, providing details of the cases filed against 49-year-old Ms. Bibi, who has been incarcerated in the Adiala Jail of Rawalpindi along with her husband. The court had ordered authorities to provide details of the cases registered against her.

During the hearing, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor also submitted a response according to the court’s order, revealing that four cases have been registered against her with NAB, including three in Rawalpindi and one in Lahore.

Though Rawalpindi and Islamabad police and NAB submitted their responses, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Balochistan police have not come up with the details of the cases against Ms. Bibi. The IHC issued fresh notices to the FIA and Balochistan police to come up with details by Monday and adjourned the case until then.

Ms. Bibi married Mr. Khan in 2018 and became his third wife. During Khan’s rule, she was considered extremely powerful but after the fall of the government, she, like her husband, has been implicated in several cases.

Ms. Bibi has been named in various cases, including the Army Museum, GHQ Gate 4 attack case, the burning of a sensitive military building in Saddar Cantt, attacking an intelligence agency office on Murree Road, and other incidents of arson, rioting, and vandalism in different areas.

She has also been named in cases at the RA Bazaar, Civil Line, New Town, City, Waris Khan, and Taxila police stations.