PTI walks out of Senate to protest Bushra’s ‘secret’ hospital visit

• Seeks probe into ‘sudden and suspicious’ transfer of ex-PM’s spouse to medical centre from Adiala jail
• Rana Sanaullah advises party to pursue matter through legal channels

ISLAMABAD: PTI senators walked out of the Senate on Thursday after the party’s parliamentary leader in the House, Syed Ali Zafar, raised alarm over reports that Bushra Bibi was “suddenly and suspiciously” taken to a hospital from Adiala jail during the night and returned without any disclosure, calling it a “serious human rights violation”.

Raising a point of order, Mr Zafar said the reports had caused “grave apprehension and concern throughout the country”. He termed the situation “highly strange and secretive” and said it raised several questions.

“If Bushra Bibi was unwell, why has the nation not been informed about her medical condition? To which hospital was she taken? What medical tests were conducted? Which doctors examined her? Why was she immediately brought back to jail?” he asked.

He said the silence of the government and jail authorities had made the matter “even more suspicious”.

Mr Zafar claimed that Bushra Bibi had for months faced “solitary confinement, mental torture, and extremely harsh conditions” in jail.

He alleged that her personal doctors were being denied access, family meetings were blocked, and details of her treatment were being kept secret.

“Such treatment is not only inhumane but also contrary to fundamental human rights and constitutional protections,” he said.

“Political differences may exist, but endangering a person’s health and life is wholly unacceptable.” He questioned whether the government had “become so vindictive that it had lost all conscience”.

Seven demands

On behalf of PTI, Mr Zafar pla­ced seven demands before the House, including immediate disclosure of Bushra Bibi’s medical test results, permission for her personal doctors to examine her, unrestricted meetings with family members, her transfer to Shifa International Hospital for treatment, formation of an independent medical board, permission for human rights organisations and a Senate committee, including PTI senators, to visit her and referral of the matter to the Sena­­te Human Rights Com­mittee with directions to send a delegation to assess her condition.

“Transparency and adherence to human rights are essential in a democratic society,” he said, adding that the nation deserved clarity regarding her health.

“We will boycott this session if our demands are not met,” he warned. “If we have to go to court for small matters, then what is the upper house for?”

Mr Zafar described the Senate as the “biggest and most sacred house”.

“If we were in government, we would have immediately ordered that a meeting be arranged. This is not such a big issue,” he added.

PM’s aide Rana Sanaullah, in response, asked PTI to “ad­o­pt the legal route” to seek permission to visit the jail and then inform the House afterward.

PTI lawmakers subsequently staged a walkout from the House.

‘Political solution’

ANP Senator Aimal Wali Khan said it was not appropriate to halt the parliamentary process over minor matters.

“If it is a matter of treatment, then they should be provided with medical facilities and access to doctors,” he remarked.

Stressing the need for a political solution, he suggested forming a committee comprising senior politicians and sending it to Adiala jail.

“That committee should go there and see whether Bushra Bibi and the founding chairman are being provided with facilities or not,” he said.

Meanwhile, PPP parliamentary leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman criticised the anti-encroachment operation in Bari Imam, stressing that poor residents of informal settlements were treated “inhumanely” through police shelling and bulldozer action.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2026