PHC grants protective bail to Bushra Bibi

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday restrained the police and other relevant authorities from arresting Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan in registered cases until November 18.

A two-member bench of the PHC comprising Justice Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Sahibzada Asadullah issued notices to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), federal and provincial governments and sought details of all the cases registered against her.

Petitioner Bushra Bibi was represented by advocates Qazi Muhammad Anwar and Alam Khan Adeenzai while Advocate General Shah Faisal Uthmankhel, Assistant Attorney General Rahat Ali Nahqi and NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Muhammad Ali were also present.

Counsels for the petitioner informed the court that she was the wife of Imran Khan, who was recently released from Adiala jail and was currently residing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They explained that there were cases registered against her in Punjab and Islamabad, though they had no specific information about these cases. Since Bushra Bibi wishes to face her cases in court, her counsel requested protective bail to prevent any potential arrest.

Justice Sahibzada Asadullah questioned whether they could seek details of these cases from other provinces. Advocate Qazi Muhammad Anwar informed the court that in similar cases, the PHC had previously issued notices to obtain case details through the federal government’s Ministry of Interior, which then instructed all the provinces to provide necessary information.

During the hearing, Bushra Bibi’s lawyers also alleged that the federal government was attempting to harass her in various ways. They expressed concerns that cases might be registered against her without disclosure and that she could be arrested if she visited any public place.

Given these concerns, they prayed the court to issue an order to prevent her arrest in any registered cases. The court granted this request, ordering that she not be arrested until November 18 and seeking detailed information on the cases filed against her.

Meanwhile, a single bench of the Peshawar High Court, led by Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, heard Bushra Imran’s application for transit bail. Advocate Qazi Muhammad Anwar informed the court that since the other bench had already stayed her arrest, there was no need for transit bail. Consequently, they requested to withdraw the application, which the court accepted and dismissed the case.

For security reasons, Bushra Bibi’s security team restricted entry to the courtroom, leading to a confrontation with journalists and security officials. Journalists were initially barred from entering and were threatened if they recorded videos. After intervention from court officials, journalists were later allowed entry into the court.