Claim: Former first lady and Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi has been shifted from Bani Gala to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, owing to her deteriorating health.
Fact: Bushra Bibi was not shifted to the PIMS hospital, as confirmed by her lawyer Intazar Hussain Panjutha. However, PTI has raised concerns about her deteriorating health and has requested for her to be shifted to Adiala Jail.
Bushra Bibi
Bushra Khan, popularly known as Bushra Bibi, was placed under house arrest in Bani Gala on 31 January 2024, which has been declared as “sub-jail” by the authorities, following her and Khan’s conviction in the Toshakhana case in which the couple has been sentenced to 14 years in jail.
The former first lady and Khan were sentenced to seven years each on 3 February in a case which ruled their marriage un-Islamic. Both have filed separate pleas against the verdict at the District and Sessions Courts in Islamabad.
Khan and his spouse’s indictment in the graft case has been deferred till 27 February.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has alleged that Bushra Bibi was given “poisonous food” at Bani Gala, stating she was in severe pain for more than a week. The party’s spokesperson emphasised her constitutional right to medical examination, alleging that her health and life are at risk. PTI officials accused authorities of barring Bushra Bibi’s family from visiting her, terming it a violation of constitutional rights and jail regulations, and asserted that this is a part of a “deliberate plan” to harm her.
PTI lawyer Naeem Haider Panjutha expressed serious concerns about the well-being of the former first lady and about the lack of action by authorities. Panjutha said that Bushra Bibi’s deteriorating health “worsened after she was given a spicy meal,” causing mouth ulcers, and highlighted that the high court had also raised concerns over her medical condition. Despite filing a petition to transfer her to Adiala Jail due to the threats to her life, no progress has been made, the lawyer added.
Another PTI lawyer, Senator Ali Zafar, also demanded her relocation to Adiala Jail.
Furthermore, PTI’s senior vice president, Sher Afzal Khan Marwat reiterated claims of Bushra Bibi being given substandard meals and being confined to one room in Bani Gala.
However, on 22 February, the Adiala Jail superintendent informed the Islamabad High Court that Bushra Bibi, cannot be transferred from the Bani Gala sub-jail to Adiala due to security threats. The court was hearing the petition for her transfer, during which the authorities submitted a report citing space constraints at Adiala Jail where 250 women are incarcerated. However, another report from Islamabad’s chief commissioner was not submitted; hence, the public prosecutor requested more time. The court granted the request, adjourning the hearing for two weeks.
Fact or Fiction?
On 23 February 2024, X (formerly Twitter) user AbDullah (@AbDmeHar0099o) claimed (archive) that Bushra Bibi has been shifted from her residence in Islamabad, Bani Gala, to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) after her health deteriorated.
The tweet reads,
“My God, Bushra bibi is taken to PIMS
Everybody please pray for her
They are literally poisoning her”
Soch Fact Check found the claim to be false. The former first lady’s sister, Maryam Riaz Wattoo, posted a video on X of someone lying on a stretcher under a blanket, surrounded by police officers. In Wattoo’s caption, she explains that someone sent her this video and claimed it shows her sister, which concerned her family. She was initially told by PIMS doctors and three PTI members that her sister is at PIMS, however, Bushra Bibi’s lawyer, Intazar Hussain Panjutha, then confirmed that she is actually at Bani Gala. Wattoo expressed her frustration and condemned those “who created this stress for my family”, for her elderly mother in particular.
Azhar Mashwani, PTI’s social media coordinator also confirmed on X on 23 February that as per Bushra Bibi’s lawyer, Intazar Hussain Panjutha, who had visited “Khan House Banigala’s Checkpost”, she had not been moved to the hospital, and called it a false alarm. However, Mashwani urged that the courts should promptly decide on Bushra Bibi’s application for a medical checkup and her relocation to Adiala Jail.
Panjutha himself also confirmed to Soch Fact Check that Bushra Bibi “was never shifted to hospital”. When we inquired about her health, he claimed that, “She has been given something unusual which is suspicious as she is still not feeling well and her lips become dry white.”
However, it is noteworthy that on 23 February, an accountability court’s judge, Nasir Javed Rana accepted Imran Khan’s request to meet his spouse during the hearing of the GBP 190 million corruption case in Adiala Jail, as reported by Dawn and Dunya News.
Virality:
The claim can be found here, here, here, here and here on X.
On Facebook, it can be found here, here and here.
Conclusion: Contrary to viral claims, Bushra Bibi was never shifted from Bani Gala to PIMS hospital. However, the PTI claims that her health has worsened.
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