On Saturday (August 5), the Islamabad High Court (IHC) sentenced former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to three years in prison after being found guilty in the Toshakhana gifts case.
The court has also disqualified Khan from contesting elections for a period of 5 years. The ex-cricketer has also been fined PKR 1,00,000 (~ ₹29,390) by the IHC.
According to Pakistani journalist Wajahat Kazmi, an arrest warrant has been issued against Imran Khan by the Islamabad High Court. The Inspector General (IG) of Islamabad police has also been directed to immediately arrest the former Prime Minister.
The Toshakhana gift case surrounding Imran Khan
Imran Khan had been accused of retaining gifts, received by the Office of the Prime Minister from other countries, either for free or at throwaway prices.
As per a report published by The Express Tribune, Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi retained 112 valuables that were gifted to the PM’s Office between August 2018 and December 2021. The duo obtained 52 of the items worth PKR 800200 without ‘paying a single penny’.
The former Pakistani Prime Minister retained the remaining 60 valuables worth over PKR 141 million by paying a total of PKR 38.17 million. The Express Tribune reported that a PKR 85 million Graff wristwatch gifted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was retained by Khan for a sum of PKR 20 million.
He also paid just PKR 754,000 for a Rolex watch valued at PKR 3.8 million. The details of all gifts received by Imran Khan, during his tenure as the Prime Minister, were maintained by a department of the Cabinet Division known as Toshakhana.
In an exclusive report published by Fact Focus, it came to light that Imran Khan earned more from Toshakhana gifts in 2 months than he did in the first 66 years of his life.
“The tax record establishes that he and his wife Bushra haven’t declared the value of all the Toshakhana gifts they retained…The total worth of all his properties and assets as declared by him in his latest tax return (FY 2021) is PKR 141 million. The total value of Tosha Khana gifts retained by him was PKR 142 million,” the report by Usman Manzoor in Fact Focus stated.
Besides the non-declaration of Toshakhana gifts in tax filings and the firm resolve to withhold information, Imran Khan has been accused of selling valuables that he received as Prime Minister.
Imran Khan has however defended his decision to retain valuables from Toshakhana by claiming “Mera Tohfa, Meri Marzi (My gifts, my choice).” He claimed that he had paid 50% of the value of the gifts. He further justified his decision by comparing the Toshakhana gifts to the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) flats allotted to the Pakistani army officers.