Photo courtesy PID
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday verified reports that former prime minister Imran Khan had sold gifts received from foreign states, including a pricey wristwatch given by Saudi Arabia’s leadership, after paying a nominal amount for them to the Toshakhana.
Rather than denying Sharif’s allegations, former information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain endorsed them, issuing a statement that defended Khan’s actions by asserting that “selling one’s own assets [after purchasing them from the Toshakhana] is not a crime.”
Sharif accused the PTI chairman of selling off gifts given by foreign leaders during an interaction with senior journalists at the Prime Minister’s House. “I can confirm that Imran Khan sold in Dubai state gifts worth Rs. 140 million from the Toshakhana,” he alleged, adding that this included jewelry, watches, a gun, and even a car.
According to Pakistan’s laws, any gifts received from foreign dignitaries are deposited with the Toshakhana. The recipient of the gifts is then allowed to pay half the market value of any gift that they wish to retain. The law is silent on reselling the gifts are retaining them, but senior diplomats have said this is considered a “great insult” to the relevant foreign states and risks damaging Pakistan’s international ties.
Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb, in a separate press conference, rubbished Fawad’s defense, stressing that the issue was not of “personal property,” but rather state-level gifts whose sale for profit risks insulting international leaders. She alleged Khan had not merely sold a wristwatch, but had also parted with a necklace, a ring, a gold Kalashnikov and a jeep.
The issue of the Toshakhana gifts received by prime minister Imran Khan has been pending before the Islamabad High Court since last year. During hearings, the court has questioned the former ruling party’s reluctance to disclose details of the gifts given to Khan since August 2018, when he assumed office as Prime Minister of Pakistan.
The IHC petition was filed after the Pakistan Information Commission accepted a petitioner’s plea on details about the Toshakhana, and directed the Cabinet Division to “provide details of the gifts received by Imran Khan from foreign heads of states, heads of governments and other foreign dignitaries.” Instead of providing the required information, the Cabinet Division challenged the PIC order before the IHC, claiming revealing the information could risk the country’s international relations.
“We have details of the gifts obtained [by Imran Khan] from the Toshakhana and we will provide them to the [Islamabad] High Court whenever it asks us to,” Fawad said. “These gifts were purchased by Imran Khan and he can sell his assets. So there is nothing wrong with it,” he added.
Earlier, while still in power, PTI leader Shahbaz Gill had claimed that Khan had not sold any of the gifts received by him during foreign visits.