Islamabad High Court (IHC) has demanded the details of gifts received by former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case. In fact, the IHC ordered the government to make public all the foreign gifts given to Pakistan.
A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the case against Imran Khan. During the hearing, the petitioner argued that former PM Khan sold valuable state gifts, therefore, violating the constitution. As a result, the IHC judge remarked that no one is above the law.
“Present details of all foreign gifts retained by former PM Imran Khan in next hearing,” the IHC said while issuing directives to the deputy attorney general.
The court also directed to recover all foreign gifts presented to government officials in the past 20 years.
Read more: Toshakhana case: Zardari challenges confiscation of BMW, Lexus vehicles
Furthermore, the IHC judge said that there shouldn’t have been a policy to pay a percentage of the actual price and take the gift home. He said all state gifts should be kept in a public place.
Accusations against Imran Khan
Currently, the government is charged against Imran Khan amid the Toshakhana case. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently accused former prime minister Imran Khan of selling gifts from Toshakhana. He said he can confirm that Imran Khan took gifts from Toshakhana and sold them to Dubai.
Shehbaz Sharif said Imran Khan allegedly traded for money which include diamond jewelry sets, bracelets, and wristwatches. The accusations caused quite the controversy.
IK and his wife retained almost every gift that he/they got because of his post as PM
IK sold many of these at hefty person profit
IK did not pay half of the value of the gifts but rather around 26-27% of their value
IK gives lectures to others on morality and ethics
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) April 20, 2022
To clarify, according to the Toshakhana rules, gifts remain the property of the state unless sold at an open auction. Rules allow officials to retain gifts with a market value of less than Rs10, 000 without paying anything.
However, according to multiple reports, Imran Khan received 58 gifts worth more than Rs. 140 million from the world leaders during his three-and-a-half-year stint. He retained all of them either by paying some amount or even without any payment.
Read more: PM Shehbaz accuses Imran Khan of selling Toshakhana’s gifts
Meanwhile, Imran Khan states that whatever he took from the Toshakhan is on record. Moreover, he purchased the gifts after paying 50% of the cost.