A petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday against the solitary confinement of Bushra Bibi, wife of former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan.
Making the superintendent, deputy superintendent Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, IG Jail, Punjab and the NAB chairman respondents, Mubashara Maneka, in her petition, stated that Bushra had been kept in solitary confinement in Adiala Jail illegally, Rawalpindi and she was not even allowed to meet her family members.
She argued that under the Pakistan Penal Code and Jail Rules, such an imprisonment was not only illegal but was also overstepping of power.
Mubashara also pointed out that under the Jail Rules, any prisoner could not be kept in solitary confinement for more than 14 days.
“Besides that, keeping a prisoner in solitary confinement for an indefinite period of time is also against human dignity in light of the United Nation’s Nelson Mandela Rules,” she reminded.
She told the court that Bushra had undergone eye surgery in April. “She was twice shifted to a hospital due to pain in her right eye,” Mubashara said, adding however, the unfortunate part was that neither her family members nor lawyers were informed of the nature of the disease.
She said that Bushra’s lawyers were also not being allowed to meet her so that they could get her signatures on the power of attorney and discuss with her other legal matters.
The petitioner prayed to the IHC to declare solitary confinement in the absence of any court order ‘illegal’; violation of articles 9 and 14 of the constitution of Pakistan.
