ISLAMABAD: The wealth statement and tax returns of Muhammad Shafiq and his watch shop Art of Time do not show any indication that he could afford to buy a famous jewel watch for Rs 50 million from former Prime Minister Imran Khan. According to official data available with JEE News. .
According to Shafiq’s tax returns for the years 2018 to 2022, the net income of the shop ‘Art of Time’ is around Rs 12 million, reflecting the income tax returns of Shafiq’s watch shop business.
Interestingly, during these five years, Shafiq’s wealth statement shows that his total assets increased from Rs 2.8 million in 2018 to Rs 10.6 million in 2022. His bank accounts had the highest balance of Rs 4.5 million and maximum withdrawals of Rs 1 million during this period.
The income tax returns of the watch shop ‘Art of Time’ further reveal that the shop kept a maximum stock of Rs 1.8 million during these five years. While the net purchase by Art of Time from 2018 to 2020 was around Rs 20 million. This means that the total stock of watches purchased by Art of Time in all these years was only Rs 20 million.
It may be mentioned here that Imran Khan had submitted receipts of 50 million for the sale of a watch to the same shop and to the same person named Shafiq. The former prime minister along with members of his party have been repeatedly claiming that the famous Jewel Class watch gifted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was sold to this man, Shafiq, for Rs 50 million in January 2019. was
A prominent government official confirmed the documents related to Shafiq on condition of anonymity and revealed that the authorities are also conducting an inquiry into the matter.
The sources further explained that the authorities are worried how a man can sell a watch worth Rs 100 million for just Rs 50 million. The price of this watch was estimated at 100 million rupees by Imran Khan’s own government.
“We also wonder why someone would leave a private receipt in a public record?” said the official. It is important to mention here that these receipts were found not in the Tosha Khana records but in the Office of the Military Secretary to the Prime Minister from the Prime Minister’s House.
When questioned about Shafiq, the sources replied that the authorities are investigating his whereabouts and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is also looking for him in the Tosha Khana case. According to sources, Shafiq has sold this watch shop at the beginning of this year and fled to Dubai.
Fawad Chaudhry and Shahbaz Guill were contacted for their comments but both did not respond. The question sent to him was that there is no proof of his ability to buy a watch for Rs 50 million from the wealth statement and tax returns of Muhammad Shafiq and his shop ‘Art of Time’. His business tax returns and wealth statement along with his account details show that his total business capital was Rs 20 lakh. Its total assets increased from 2 million to 10 million from 2018 to 2022. Question) How is it possible that such a man can buy such an expensive watch? Please comment. Your prompt response would be greatly appreciated.”
While Umar Farooq Zahoor, who still owns the same watch, when contacted by JEE News, insisted that he bought the watch from Farah Khan in 2019 for Rs 280 million. Umar said Khan had sent him a notice in which he had also mentioned selling the watch to Art of Time for Rs 50 million. According to him, all the claims of PTI and Khan Sahib regarding the gifted watch were lies.
Zahoor had earlier displayed this special edition Graff watch – crafted by the world’s finest craftsmen – to the camera and claimed to have bought it from Farah in Dubai in April 2019 for $2 million. Which was about 280 million rupees. by that time.
On the other hand, the sale receipt of the same special edition watch to Art of Time was submitted by the former Prime Minister himself before the Cabinet Division. The January 22, 2019 receipt with JEE News specifically mentions the purchase of a set comprising a Graff Gentes watch, a ring, a pair of cufflinks and a pen from Khan.
On the same day, 22 January, official documents from the State Bank of Pakistan show that Imran Khan deposited 20.1 million rupees into the state treasury (20% of the 100 million rupees estimated by Toshakhana). It is not clear whether the watch was sold before the deposit of Rs 20.1 million to the exchequer or after Khan sold the watch.
While Zahoor said on JEE News that he received a call from the then Accountability Minister Shehzad Akbar and was told about the gifted watch and asked if he was interested in buying it. He claimed he bought the watch through Farah, who came to Dubai and took $2 million in cash (about Dh7.5 million).
If Zahoor’s story is to be believed, Khan made a whopping profit of Rs 250 million. Whereas, if the sale receipts submitted by the former prime minister and his statement are to be believed, he got a profit of Rs 30 million.
The income tax returns of Shafiq’s business for the year 2018 show that the total income of the business during the entire year was around Rs 20 lakh. Net purchases by Art of Time for the year stood at a little over Rs.80 lakhs. The business’s cost of sales for the year 2018 was approximately 8.1 million.
In 2019, documents available with this correspondent show that the watch shop earned a total revenue of Rs 3.38 million with opening stock of Rs 0.85 million and closing stock of Rs 0.93 million.
In 2020, the total revenue announced by Art of Time was around Rs 1.7 million with opening stock of Rs 0.93 million and closing stock of Rs 1.8 million. In 2021 and 2022, the watch shop showed a total revenue of around Rs 5 million during these two years.
Also, Shafiq’s wealth statement shows that his total assets increased from Rs 2.8 million to Rs 10.6 million from 2018 to 2022. In 2020, Shafiq also revealed his wife’s 19 tola gold set but did not mention it anywhere. The so-called watch was bought from former Prime Minister Khan.
Further, Shafiq’s bank account details show the highest balance of Rs 4.5 million from 2019 to 2022. The transaction details also show that Shafiq has withdrawn as much as Rs 10 lakh in all these years.
The jewel-class watch box gifted to Khan by Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman contained more than 2,000 diamonds weighing around 41.54 carats and was valued at around Rs 100 million by the Cabinet Division during Khan’s reign. . Now, the same set is valued at more than Rs 1.7 billion by Time Zone Watch Limited, Dubai.
