ISLAMABAD: After a gap of nearly three months since November 4, 2025, Bushra Bibi, the wife of former prime minister Imran Khan, was allowed to meet her close relatives, including her daughter and sisters-in-law, a few days ago on the condition that the interaction would not be used for political motives.

Sources said the meeting was facilitated through the intervention of Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, who has previously been linked to backchannel efforts aimed at humanitarian and legal facilitation for Imran Khan and his spouse.

The facilitation reportedly followed earlier signals from Bushra Bibi that any possible channel with the establishment, if it could ease matters, should be explored. Saif was also said to have been asked by Imran Khan to use his connections for a rapprochement between the PTI and the military establishment.

Sources added that permission for the meeting was granted strictly with the condition that no political discussion would take place. Relatives were explicitly instructed not to convey or receive any political messages, a condition that was reportedly complied with during the interaction.

While no political matters were discussed, sources claimed Bushra Bibi expressed a personal grievance, lamenting that despite her and Imran Khan’s continued incarceration, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had failed to make meaningful efforts on their behalf. The sources said this remained a personal sentiment and did not translate into any political messaging.

Observers are viewing the meeting as part of a narrowly defined humanitarian facilitation rather than broader political engagement. Sources suggested similar limited family meetings may be allowed in the future depending on prevailing conditions.

In contrast, no such relaxation appears imminent in Imran Khan’s case. His last family meeting, involving his sister, reportedly became controversial after public statements attributed to him were conveyed to the media, including remarks seen as a direct attack on the Chief of Army Staff.

Authorities considered those statements unacceptable, sources said, leading to renewed restrictions and reinforcing the insistence that family meetings must not be used as a conduit for political communication.

The differing treatment underscores continued sensitivity over messaging emerging from jail meetings and the determination to strictly enforce conditions attached to any such facilitation.