ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Hundreds of people gathered outside Bani Gala, a palatial residence on the outskirts of Islamabad, on Thursday to welcome former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, who was released after nine months.
Bibi was arrested in January and granted bail on Wednesday in a case related to the illegal sale of state gifts.
She was taken in a motorcade from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where supporters threw flowers at her car.
Mr. Bibi and Mr. Khan were initially charged with selling more than 140 million rupees ($501,000) in state gifts received from the Toshakana (treasury) during Mr. Khan’s tenure as prime minister (2018-2022). He was found guilty and sentenced to 14 years in prison in January. .
The couple were each also found guilty in a case questioning the legality of their marriage, but were acquitted in July. Shortly after, authorities opened another Toshahana case, this time involving a jewelry set given to Bibi by the Saudi crown prince. The National Audit Office alleged that Khan and Bibi illegally kept the set and later sold it for more than $350,000.
Mr Khan, a former cricketer and philanthropist, remains in prison and has accused the government and “institutions” of waging a targeted campaign to keep him imprisoned, and has denied all charges against him. He denies the charges.
“Regime” in Pakistan is a euphemism for the country’s powerful security forces, which have ruled directly for nearly three decades and maintained political influence even under civilian governments.
Bibi’s release comes in the same week that Pakistan’s parliament passed controversial constitutional amendments, giving parliament the power to appoint the country’s top judge, among other changes. Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), opposed the amendment and organized protests across the country.
PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan denied rumors that he had reached an agreement with authorities to secure Bibi’s release in exchange for supporting the amendment.
“If we had had to come to an agreement with them, Bibi would not have stayed in prison for nine months and Khan would not have stayed in prison for 16 months. God willing, he will be released soon and it will be on legal merits and not on any deal. “I’m deaf,” he told reporters outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
Khan has faced more than 150 cases since his arrest in August last year and his removal from office in a no-confidence vote in April 2022, including charges of corruption, inciting violence, sedition and leaking state secrets.
Naeem Haider Panjuta, a member of Khan’s legal team, echoed Gohar Ali Khan’s optimism about Imran Khan’s potential for imminent relief.
“There is no reason for Mr. Khan to remain in prison in this case as they are facing the same charges. He has no outstanding convictions and several cases related to May 9. But we are hopeful that we can secure bail and release,” Panjuta told Al Jazeera.
Khan was briefly detained on May 9 last year, sparking nationwide protests by PTI supporters. Demonstrations escalated, state buildings and military installations were attacked, and thousands of people were arrested, but only about 100 faced military tribunals.
PTI’s Syed Zulfi Bukhari, a close ally of Khan, also expressed optimism that the former prime minister could be released soon.
“He, like his wife, is wrongfully imprisoned. This release has nothing to do with any agreement, but is due to the persistent efforts of her lawyers in court, and we are committed to ensuring that Imran Khan We will take similar measures and take to the streets to protest against his release,” Buhari told Al Jazeera.
However, political analyst Zaigham Khan suggested that Bibi’s release may have been “politically calculated” to increase tensions within the PTI.
While Mr. Khan, the PTI’s undisputed leader, remains behind bars, other leaders representing subgroups and factions are vying for influence.
“In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there is a power center led by Prime Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. And there is another faction that respects party secretary-general Salman Akram Raja,” Zaigham Khan said. .
But “Bibi is very powerful in her own right and Khan has complete trust in her. Many of the party members will naturally be drawn to her,” the analyst told Al Jazeera, adding that protests against constitutional changes It also pointed out that Imran Khan’s two sisters, who have been imprisoned since October for their activities, are leaders of a group close to Khan.
Analysts were also not convinced that the government’s grant of bail to Bibi signaled Khan’s imminent release.
“The case against Bibi had no merit. She had already been acquitted and released on bail in other cases, and this one was also on weak grounds, so there was no point in keeping her in jail.” political commentator Muneeb Farooq told Al Jazeera.
But Farooq said the government’s stance on Khan appeared unchanged and there was little hope for his release.
“The strategy appears to be to release Mr. Bibi while maintaining a hardline policy against Khan unless there are significant changes that would allow for his release,” he said.