The Islamabad High Court has directed the transfer of Bushra Bibi from Banigala to Adiala jail.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) announced on Wednesday that it will transfer former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, from the Bani Gala sub-jail to the Adiala prison.

IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb has reserved her verdict on the petition submitted by Bushra Bibi for her removal to Adiala prison — in which her husband is being held.

On the May 2, the top court reserved its verdict following the hearing of the arguments. In the superintendent’s report, jail officials informed us that they could not take in Bushra Bibi because it was packed and because of security concerns.

The court also declared the notice declaring Bushra Bibi’s home, Bani Gala, a sub-jail “null and void.”

Bushra was put in house detention at her home located in Bani Gala on January 31 after her conviction for the notorious Toshakhana case. The authorities had declared her Bani Gala residence a “sub-jail” to detain her former First Lady at the demand of Adiala, the jail’s superintendent.

On February 6 February 6, Bushra challenged the authorities’ decision to detain her in Bani Gala to serve a 14-year sentence as part of the case.

The petitioner’s spouse argued that, like other members of this party, she was able and willing to be sentenced in her home, in the “Ordinary Jail Premises at Adiala Jail, rather than the declared sub-jail at her residence.”

Furthermore, her former First Lady was “unsafe” being confined alone inside the jail because of the possibility of security issues.

Mrs. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder claimed that”special treatment” given to her “special treatment” meted out to her violated the principle of equality for sure by the Constitution and, consequently, discriminatory.

Based on the stated reasons, the petitioner asked the court to overturn the notification to make her home a sub-jail and transfer her into Adiala prison in the “interest of justice.”

Bushra, Khan jailed

Bushra and Khan were sentenced to 14 years in prison each when the judge of the accountability court, Muhammad Bashir, announced the verdict in the case involving the illegal transfer of state-owned gifts from Toshakhana.

The court also barred the former prime minister from holding office for ten years and imposed Rs1.57 billion, or 787 million, on each of the pair.

Khan told the court that his wife was not involved in the matter and was humiliated by being forced to take part in it.

This is the case

Under the rules that govern Toshakhana—a Persian word that translates to “treasure house”—government officials are able to keep gifts even if they are of small value, whereas they have to pay a drastically lower amount in exchange for more expensive objects.

The Toshakhana has been under scrutiny since the first claims that Khan bought the gifts he received during his prime minister at a bargain and sold them for enormous profits.

The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was accused of misusing his 2018 to 2022 premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than Rs140 million.

The presents included watches given by royal families to government officials, who have previously claimed that Khan’s aides had sold the watches in Dubai.

In addition, seven wristwatches, six from the maker Rolex and the most expensive, a “Master Graff limited edition” worth 85 million Pakistani rupees ($385,000), are also on the list of presents.

National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf requested that the Election Commission examine the matter.

In October 2022, the election body found the former premier guilty of corruption and filed a formal complaint in an Islamabad court.