Tag: toshakhana gifts

  • Imran Khan rearrested in cypher case

    Imran Khan rearrested in cypher case

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has on Tuesday suspended PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s conviction and three-year sentence in the Toshakhana case.

    Imran Khan was rearrested again in the cypher case right after getting bail in the Toshakhana case.
    According to the judgment of Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain, Khan will remain in police custody until August 30.

    Imran Khan was sentenced to jail for three years on August 5 in the Toshakhana Case. As a result of the sentence, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also banned Imran Khan for five years from contesting elections.

    Imran Khan has to sumbit a surety bond of Rs 100,000 to get bail, as per Geo.

    The former Prime Minister had challenged his sentence in the high court, with today’s verdict coming as a major legal victory.

    Earlier, Judge Humayun Dilawar of a sessions court in Islamabad found former Prime Minister Imran Khan guilty in the Toshakhana case.

    Khan had been disqualified for five years and given a prison sentence of three years.

    He had also been fined Rs 100,000. The judgement also said that if the fine is not paid, the imprisonment can be increased by six months.

  • SC refuses Khan’s plea to pause trial court proceedings in the Toshakhana case

    SC refuses Khan’s plea to pause trial court proceedings in the Toshakhana case

    The Supreme Court (SC) rejected former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s petition on Wednesday to pause trial court proceedings in the Toshakhana case.

    The former prime minister went to the apex court when he didn’t get relief from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the Toshakhana case.

    Last year, on October 21, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case for making “false statements and incorrect declarations.”

    The trial court said on July 8 that ECP’s plea is defensible and further proceeded against the former Prime Minister Imran Khan. After that, Imran Khan approached the SC for relief.

    A two-member SC bench heard the case today. Justice Yahya Afridi remarked that the SC will not interfere in the matters of the trial court.

    He further said that it’s not within the SC’s jurisdiction to hear the petition while the case is already in the IHC.

    “Court’s jurisdiction is a major issue, it should be decided first,” the justice remarked.

  • ‘I have paid back the total value of the gifts which I retained’: Ahsan Iqbal

    ‘I have paid back the total value of the gifts which I retained’: Ahsan Iqbal

    Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has announced that he has paid back the total value of the gifts which he retained from Toshakhana- when his party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was in power in 2018.

    In a letter written to the Cabinet Secretary Amir Ashraf Khawaja, Iqbal mentioned that he had taken three gifts from Toshakhana — a Rolex gents watch, a Rolex ladies’ watch and a carpet.

    The planning minister deposited a payment of Rs1,991,000 to the national kitty through a cheque.

    Iqbal said that even though he is “not required to make any additional payment for the same”, he is paying the remaining amount to dispel “any misplaced allegation or even an iota of doubt that I wrongfully benefitted from the gifts”.

    In February, Ahsan Iqbal returned the V8 vehicle he had been allotted and asked the govt to give a him a smaller car, citing the economic crunch in the country as his reason for returning the fuel-guzzling SUV.

  • Record of Toshakhana gifts will be posted online soon, promises Khawaja Asif

    Record of Toshakhana gifts will be posted online soon, promises Khawaja Asif

    The federal cabinet under the supervision of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has decided to make the details of state gifts received over the past two decades available to the public soon.

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif announced the development on his Twitter account where he revealed that the declassification of Toshakhana records has been allowed by the cabinet, adding that the record would be posted soon on the website of the cabinet division.

    Last year in June, PM Shehbaz Sharif constituted a ministerial committee to redesign Toshakhana policy.

    Toshakhana has been at the center of a political storm since 2021 when former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was accused of hiding details of the gifts he received during his tenure. A case and an investigation pertaining to the same are currently going on.

    However, responding to the controversy Khan said that the gifts were given to him, therefore it was his choice to keep them or not.

    Last year, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also disqualified the PTI chief as Member of the National Assembly (MNA) in the Toshkhana case.

    Recently, non-bailable arrest warrants were issued for Khan in the Toshkahana case because of his continued absences from Toshakhana court hearings. Last week, Islamabad Police reached Zaman Park to arrest the PTI chief, however, he managed to evade it.

    Later, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended the arrest warrant but directed Khan to appear before the trial court by March 13 or face the proceedings of declaring him a proclaimed offender.

  • NAB summons Khan and wife on March 9 in Toshakhana case

    NAB summons Khan and wife on March 9 in Toshakhana case

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on March 9 in connection with the Toshakhana reference.

    The anti-graft watchdog’s Rawalpindi branch summoned the PTI chief hours after NAB Chairman Aftab Sultan tendered his resignation after reportedly refusing to “toe the line”.

    In its notice to Khan, NAB wrote: “The competent authority has taken cognizance of an offence allegedly committed by the accused persons under the provisions of NAO, 1999.”

    The questions on gifts included in the notice are on six Rolex watches and an iPhone given by the Chief of Staff of the Qatari Armed Forces.

    On November 19, NAB had taken notice of the alleged non-disclosure of the actual value of gifts received by the former prime minister, his wife, and other cabinet members.

  • Indictment deferred after Imran skips Toshakhana case hearing

    Indictment deferred after Imran skips Toshakhana case hearing

    A sessions court in Islamabad deferred the indictment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman skipped today’s hearing citing health reasons.

    The PTI chairman is recovering from wounds he sustained in a gun attack on November 3, 2022 during a rally in Wazirabad.

    “How can we frame charges if exemption pleas are filed again and again?” the judge asked.

    Imran Khan’s lawyer, Barrister Ali Zafar, argued that they had not been provided attested copies of the evidence and complaints.

    At this, ECP’s lawyer said that they had provided the said documents in front of the court. However, the judge directed the lawyer to ensure that all the required material is provided to the defence.

    During the proceedings, the ECP lawyer asked, “Why did Imran Khan not appear before the court? We have seen him dancing on the container.”

    At this, Zafar told the ECP lawyer to refrain from giving such statements.

    He also requested that any date after February 15 be fixed instead.

    “Give us a date when Imran Khan will appear” the judge asked.

    “He will come if he is able to,” the counsel responded.

  • Govt to disclose Toshkhana gifts publicly

    Govt to disclose Toshkhana gifts publicly

    The federal government has decided to publicly disclose the details and records of gifts received and deposited in the Toshakhana over the past two decades.

    The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting after the government faced backlash for it’s reluctance to disclose the list of gifts.

    The Toshakhana was established in 1978. All public officeholders, including parliamentarians and bureaucrats, are bound to report the gifts they have received from foreign dignitaries to the Cabinet Division, whereafter they are to be deposited at the Toshakhana.

    Earlier, the incumbent government told Lahore High Court (LHC) that public disclosure of Toshakhana details could cause unnecessary media hype and could be potentially damaging to Pakistan’s foreign relations.

    Former Prime Minister (PM) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has been accused of not sharing details of the state gifts which he received during his tenure as the head of government.

    Last year, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also disqualified the PTI chief as Member of the National Assembly (MNA) in the Toshkhana case.

  • Session court to announce verdict in Toshakhana case against Khan on Dec 15

    Session court to announce verdict in Toshakhana case against Khan on Dec 15

    A district and sessions court reserved its verdict on a plea filed by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the Toshakhana case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

    The verdict will be announced at 2pm on December 15.

    During today’s hearing, ECP’s lawyer Saad Hassan appeared before the court and presented his arguments.

    “Imran Khan said that he constructed a road with the money [acquired from] Toshakhana [gifts],” he said, adding that a prime minister has to deposit any gift they receive to the Toshakhana.

    He further stated that the Toshakhana gifts could be retained after paying 20 per cent of the gift’s price until the PTI government introduced a new law which allowed taking the Toshakhana gifts after paying 50 per cent of its price.

    “The price of the watch was estimated at Rs.85 million,” he said, adding that Khan failed to state the amount for which he sold the Toshakhana watch.

    Imran Khan said that he has deposited the amount [ he paid for] for all the items in the same bank account, the counsel told the court.

    Last month, ECP, in a consensus verdict in the Toshakana reference, disqualified the former prime minister and ruled that the PTI chief was no more a member of the National Assembly.

    The ECP stated that the PTI chief had submitted a false affidavit and was found involved in corrupt practices under Article 63(1)(p).

    The ECP stated that the PTI chief had submitted a false affidavit and was found involved in corrupt practices under Article 63(1)(p).

  • ‘Meri gharri hai, mai bechoon ya jo marzi karoon’: Imran Khan

    ‘Meri gharri hai, mai bechoon ya jo marzi karoon’: Imran Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has accused the media of looking the other way on important matters and instead focusing on what he implied were trivial issues, such as the Toshakhana watch scandal.

    “The channels that used to bash the PTI government for inflation, those channels are quiet now and are instead focused on a watch,” he said in a press conference in Lahore.

    “It’s my watch. I can sell it, or do whatever I want. No one is talking about the economic murder being committed right now.”

    Referring to his opponents, Imran Khan said the “gang of thieves” has properties in foreign countries worth billions of dollars, hence they do not care about the economic collapse of the country.

    He added that the US dollar will further shoot up and there would be no foreign investment “if Pakistan defaults”.

    “A group of thieves has been imposed on us,” the deposed premier said, adding that the gang has been stealing national wealth for the past 30 years. He also said they were laundering the looted money abroad via illegal means including hundi and hawala.

    He again criticised the Election Commission of Pakistan and the establishment of supporting the ruling alliance led by the PML-N during the recent by-polls in the country.

    “Maryam Nawaz reached [homeland] first, then Ishq Dar was dry cleaned and now Suleman Shehbaz will be dry cleaned,” Imran Khan said.

    “We all knew who gave them NRO-II,” the former Prime Minister said and asked if the Constitution has room for NRO-II.

    The PTI chairman feared that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari will not move towards elections.

    Addressing the new military leadership in the presser, the former premier said: “The new regime which has recently taken over should think about the country for God’s sake. National security institutions should see what is happening with the country.”

    He also stressed that the nation and army go hand in hand, not separately.

  • ‘Iss tarhaa ki audio college ke bachay bhi bana lete hain’: Zulfi Bukhari responds to audio leak

    ‘Iss tarhaa ki audio college ke bachay bhi bana lete hain’: Zulfi Bukhari responds to audio leak

    Sayed Zulfi Bukhari, a close aide of Imran Khan, the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has denied the authenticity of an audio recording between him and former First Lady Bushra Bibi which surfaced online earlier in the day.

    In a tweet, he said that he has neither bought or sold any watches. “Earlier, it was being said that watches were sold to a person named Umar Zahoor through Farah Gujjar. But when a legal notice was served [to Zahoor], a new story popped up that I have sold the watches”, he said.

    Bukhari went on to say that “even college students can make such cut-copy-paste audio”.

    He also demanded that a forensic audit of the audio should be immediately conducted and he is “ready to pay for it”.

    Prior to this, the audio got leaked, in which Bushra Bibi can be heard allegedly discussing selling Toshakhana watches with Bukhari. According to the clip, Bushra asks Zulfi to sell her husband’s watches as they are of no use to him. Zulfi Bukhari can be heard agreeing with his party chairman’s wife.

    It is pertinent to mention here that this is the second time that Bushra Bibi’s audio got leaked. Earlier in the year, another alleged leaked audio of the former First Lady came to light in which she could be heard saying, “Khan Sahib told you to run a hashtag of treason. I have been getting calls from people that your social media was very active but after a week, it is not. You should have been very active nowadays.”