Heavily condemning the incarceration of Bushra Bibi, the wife of PTI (Pakistan Tehreek -e-Insaf) and former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the UN has said that the conditions under which she is being held, hold some serious ramifications concerning her physical and mental well-being, potentially crossing into the realm of torture.
Alice Jill Edwards, the UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, urged Pakistani authorities to take immediate steps to address the health of the former first lady, who has been in legal custody since 2023.
Khan and his wife were convicted of graft in January, and were sentenced to 14 years and seven years respectively. On Saturday, the two were sentenced to an additional 17-years each, in separate corruption cases over gifts Khan had received while in office.
In that ruling, the former premier and Bushra Bibi were sentenced to 10 years for criminal breach of trust and seven years for corruption, linked to allegations that state gifts were undervalued.
Releasing a statement, Edwards, citing reports that Khan’s wife was confined to a small, dark, dirty cell, heavily criticised the detention and said the state was obliged to protect Bushra Bibi’s health and ensure that her prison conditions and all facilities provided are compatible with basic human dignity.
“Such conditions fall far below minimum international standards,” Edwards said, adding that no detainee should be subject to conditions like extreme heat, contaminated food and water, extreme isolation, or restricting access to visitors.
The UN rapporteur expressed concern regarding Bibi’s alleged isolation by prison authorities, claiming that she was kept in isolation for 22hrs a day, and urged authorities to ensure that she was able to communicate with her lawyers, receive visits from family members and have meaningful human contact throughout her detention.
Edwards has formally taken up Bushra Bibi’s case with the government in Islamabad, seeking clarification and remedial action.
The warning follows earlier comments by the UN expert this month on Khan’s own detention, with Edwards alleging that the former premier was being subject to inhuman, degrading treatment that borderline amounts to torture, and called on authorities to ensure his imprisonment complied fully with international norms.
Khan has been in custody for the last two years, and is facing a slew of legal cases ranging from corruption, abuse of power, fraud, as well as sedition, and terror support, though he has continuously denied the charges, while the PTI maintains that his prosecution was politically motivated.
