Pakistan’s ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have been sentenced to 14 years in jail for selling Toshakhana or gifts from state depository. The court verdict comes a day after the PTI founder was handed a 10-year prison term in cipher leaking case.
Former cricketer remains jailed in Rawalpindi’s Adiala prison, as he was initially arrested in the same Toshakhana case filed by country’s top election body. Khan, after being jailed for 3 years, was moved to a prison in Attock.
Last year, the key opposition leader was granted relief when his jail sentence was revoked but he remains in jail on other charges. In light of security concerns, all court hearings against Mr Khan are taking place at the prison.
Toshakhana Case
Toshakhana is a department overseen by Pakistan’s Cabinet Division, tasked with managing valuable gifts presented to politicians by dignitaries. As per the rules, all Pakistanis are required to inform the Cabinet Division about the gifts taken from the state depository.
If gifts are valued less than Rs30,000, PM and other officials can personally keep them. Expensive gifts must be stored in Toshakhana.
If PM, President or other officials wants to retain gift, they are bound to pay fraction of gift’s value, as determined by the Toshakhana evaluation committee.
While the percentage was around 20 percent of the monetary value of a gift, Imran Khan’s government raised it to 50 percent after he entered office in 2018.
Imran Khan, 71, was accused of having gifts at manipulated prices and later sold these gifts for $635,000. The gifts include a model of the Kaaba from Saudi Arabia, estimated to be worth 60 to 65 million rupees in the international market.
Timeline of Toshakhana case
It all started on October 21, 2022, when Election Commission disqualified former PM under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution.
In Late October, ECP started legal tussle against Khan, and criminal proceedings were started against former cricketer for receiving from foreign dignitaries during his premiership.
On May 10, 2023, a Pakistani court indicted Mr Khan, dismissing his petition to declare the case inadmissible.
Later in July, Islamabad High Court revoked trial court’s verdict and ordered it to rehear the petitioner and decide the matter within a week time.
On July 8 2023, a judge from lower court declared Toshakhana case against PTI chief maintainable, and the matter again landed in Islamabad High Court.
In late July, Khan attended proceedings and his legal team accused presiding judge of bias and sought the transfer of the case.
In early August, the trial court turned down list of witnesses presented by PTI founder and the politician then moved to high court seeking a stay and transfer of the case.
On August 4 2023, Islamabad Chief Justice forwarded matter back to trial court.
On August 5 2023, the court found Imran Khan guilty of misdeclaration of state gifts, and ordered his arrest.
On August 29, Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended sentence awarded to him in Toshakhana case and ordered his release on bail.
The matter continued in the coming months till January 2024.
On January 31, 2024, former prime minister was sentenced to fourteen years in prison. His wife Bushra Bibi, too, was convicted and sentenced to a 14-year prison term.
Cipher case: Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi sentenced to ten years in jail
