Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court dismisses Bushra Bibi’s bail plea

Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court has dismissed a petition filed by Bushra Bibi, wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, seeking bail and suspension of her sentence in the Toshakhana case.

A two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan heard the case on Wednesday. Bushra Bibi’s counsel, Salman Safdar, presented arguments, while Salman Akram Raja was also present in the courtroom.

Safdar argued that Pakistani courts had historically adopted a lenient approach in cases involving women and that Bushra Bibi should be granted the same legal concession through suspension of her sentence.

He criticised the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for its conduct over the past 13 months, saying it had repeatedly sought adjournments and raised unjustified objections to the petition.

Safdar maintained that strong legal grounds now existed for Bushra Bibi’s bail and suspension of her sentence following her conviction, although previous proceedings had primarily focused on Khan’s main appeal.

During the hearing, Justice Baqir Najfi asked how many times the main appeals of Khan and Bushra Bibi had been scheduled for hearing.

Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan said the focus at this stage should remain on the legal aspects of the pending petition for suspension of the sentence rather than the merits of the case.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the court directed Safdar to submit the key points of his arguments in writing, after which it would announce its reserved verdict in accordance with constitutional and legal requirements.