ISLAMABAD – The Pakistani government tightened the noose around the handling of Toshakhana gifts, introducing sweeping new rules governing the acceptance, storage, auditing, and auction of official presents.
Cabinet Division issued a notification for the Toshakhana Management and Regulation Rules 2026, bringing a stricter framework for dealing with gifts received by government officials. Under the new rules, the receipt of gifts by anyone other than the President and Prime Minister will be discouraged, while all gifts already lying in the Toshakhana and those received in the future will be put up for auction.
In a major change, the money generated from the sale of these gifts will be used for girls’ education in underdeveloped areas, linking the proceeds of Toshakhana auctions directly to an education initiative.
The government has also made third-party audits mandatory, with all gifts received during each financial year to undergo an independent audit.
The rules clarified that gifts will be sold through open public auctions, with the process preferably taking place twice a year and at least once annually. However, gifts carrying cultural, historical or diplomatic sensitivity will be kept out of the auction process.
The government has also drawn a clear line around participation in the auctions. Government officials and their family members will not be allowed to bid for Toshakhana gifts. Another restriction applies to gifts presented as sets. Such items cannot be split up and sold separately, ensuring that complete sets remain intact during the disposal process.
Transparency has also been built into the auction mechanism, with the new rules providing for direct media coverage of the auctions.
To determine the fate of gifts, the government has constituted a high-level committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary. The committee will include additional secretaries from the Finance, Foreign Affairs, Law and Culture divisions. The committee will determine which gifts qualify for auction and which should be preserved because of their historical significance.
The new rules also address gifts that officials are required to accept under diplomatic protocol. Where accepting a gift is considered unavoidable because of diplomatic etiquette, the recipient will be required to deposit it with the Toshakhana.
If the focus is Imran Khan’s Toshakhana cases, with the new rules presented as the broader development, I’d frame it this way:
Imran Khan’s Toshakhana Cases
Imran Khan’s Toshakhana cases remained a major legal and political issue in Pakistan, and the federal government has now introduced a tougher framework governing state gifts.
PTI founder was sentenced to three years in prison in the original Toshakhana case in August 2023 over allegations concerning the declaration and retention of state gifts. The sentence was later suspended. The matter returned to the spotlight in the Toshakhana-II case, involving a Bulgari jewellery set gifted by Saudi Arabia. In December 2025, a special court sentenced Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison each and imposed fines of Rs16.4 million each.
Toshakhana-II case: What statements Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi recorded before court?
