ISLAMABAD  -  Former prime minister and founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi was released from jail on Thursday, ending nearly nine months of her detention amid rumours of a deal between the opposition PTI party and the powerful establishment.

It was beyond anybody’s expectation that the former first lady would be set free a day after Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted her post-arrest bail in a new Toshakhana case being prosecuted against the couple by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The recent modus operandi by state agencies shows that new cases are initiated against PTI chief Imran Khan and his wife if they get post-arrest bails in the last cases against them, to ensure that they remain behind the bars.

Obviously, the release of Bibi gave rise to speculations about a deal. Some observers tried to connect the dots by saying that the abrupt end of PTI’s protest in the Red Zone of the capital, held in the first week of October, was perhaps a result of some kind of backdoor understanding with the powers-that-be.

PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan denied the possibility of a deal and said it was only the court that gave the former first lady some relief. “I refute talks of any deal and had the release been possible through a deal, she should not have stayed in jail for nine months,” he told reporters.

Gohar said if the PTI had to make some compromises, then there was no need for the ex-premier to stay in jail for 16 months. He said Bibi was put in the jail only to pressurise Khan, adding that his party founder would also secure his release through a court intervention.

Bibi was taken into custody on January 31 after an accountability court sentenced her and Khan to 14 years in jail in the old Toshakhana reference.

She was first detained at the residence of her spouse in Islamabad’s Banigala area by declaring the place a sub-jail. On appeal, she was later shifted to Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail where Khan also remains incarcerated since August last year. In the most recent case, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had accused Bibi and Khan of illegally retaining an expensive Bulgari jewelry set from the state repository (Toshakhana), saying it caused significant loss to the exchequer. The case was later transferred to the FIA following an apex court judgment. Soon after securing her release from jail, Bibi quickly left for Banigala without speaking to anyone. Some PTI workers showered her car with rose petals before it sped away.

The official party sources informed that it was first decided by the party in the light of the advice of Khan that the former first lady should stay at the residence of her husband at Zaman Park neighbourhood of Lahore. Contrary to this, she, along with her security staff, left for Peshawar to stay there on the invitation of Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur. She would stay besides CM residence in the high security zone of the provincial capital.

The provincial chief executive assured her that she would be provided with fool proof security. Bibi was also told that she would be safe in KP, where PTI is the ruling party, from re-arrest and any police raid.

Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, the provincial government spokesperson, also confirmed in a statement that Bibi had reached Peshawar safely and she would stay there for some time.

The PTI hailed the release of Bibi for “enduring jail in extreme conditions with a lot of courage.”

“Red salute to Bushra Bibi, the woman who endured 265 worst days in jail,” PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said on X.

PTI lawyer Salman Safdar talking on X said it was a “great day” for Bibi’s family, adding that his legal team “worked tirelessly.” He hoped that Khan and his sisters would walk free soon.