ISLAMABAD: The local court has upheld the Toshakhana case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.
Islamabad Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar delivered the reserved judgment, which will be heard on July 12. Witnesses have also been summoned on the same day.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had on October 21 last year disqualified the former prime minister for making “false statements and false declarations” under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution in the Toshakhana reference.
A trial court then, in May this year, rejected the plea of Khan – the first prime minister to be removed from office by a no-confidence vote, challenging the tenability of the reference.
Not only this, the court also indicted the PTI chief, who denied all the allegations leveled against him.
The PTI chief then challenged the trial court’s decision in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), which remanded the case to the trial court for re-examination within seven days.
Khan has not appeared in court for the hearings that have taken place despite repeated summons by Judge Dilawar following the IHC’s orders.
At today’s hearing, counsel for the Election Commission – a party to the case – said the PTI chief was seeking immunity from the hearing and using “delay” tactics.”
His arguments have already been presented by his legal counsel,” countered the lawyer.
The judge noted that the IHC had given such huge relief to the PTI chief.
On this, former prime minister’s lawyer Gohar Khan said that the High Court did not give relief. Instead, it remanded the matter to the trial court for reconsideration. “And I don’t agree with that.”
The lawyer further said that there is still time, the court will pronounce the verdict at the appointed time. The judge then rejected the request to adjourn the hearing till Monday.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Gauhar said he was angry with the verdict and called it a “murder of justice”.
“We informed the court that if our arguments are not heard, we will approach the higher courts,” he claimed, adding that the court delivered its verdict after a “10-minute hearing”.
We will go to higher courts against this decision.
What is Toshakhana case?
Under the rules governing the Toshakhana – a Persian word meaning “treasure chest” – government officials can keep gifts if they are of low value, while paying dramatically lower fees to the government for extravagant items. Must pay.
The toshkhana has been under a microscope ever since allegations surfaced that Imran Khan bought gifts as prime minister at exorbitant rates and sold them in the open market for huge profits.
The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was accused of abusing his prime ministership from 2018 to 2022 by buying and selling government-owned gifts that were received during visits abroad and worth more than Rs140 million ($635,000).
Among the gifts were watches given by a royal family, according to government officials, who had previously alleged that Khan’s aides had sold them in Dubai.
The gifts included seven wristwatches, six by watchmaker Rolex, and the most expensive was a “Mastergraph Limited Edition” worth 85 million Pakistani rupees ($385,000).
The Election Commission’s order said that Imran Khan is disqualified under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution.
