The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will pronounce the decision on the Tosha Khana disqualification reference filed against former Prime Minister Imran Khan (today) at 2 pm on Friday.
According to the notice issued yesterday, the ECP ordered all the parties concerned or their lawyers to appear before the election watchdog at its secretariat in Islamabad.
The ECP also sent a letter to the Islamabad Police requesting “foolproof security” inside and outside the watchdog premises for the entire day to “avoid any untoward incident”. The letter also requested to provide two security personnel in civil dress and one traffic warden.
The ECP stressed that all necessary security arrangements should be completed, especially inside the ECP Secretariat building, and considered the matter “extremely urgent”.
The ECP had reserved the verdict in the Toshakhana case on September 19.
A reference was filed by the coalition government against the PTI chairman for “not sharing details” of Tosha Khana’s gifts and proceeds from their alleged sale.
Established in 1974, the Tosha Khana is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division and stores valuable gifts given to officials by rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, and other heads of government and states and foreign dignitaries. go
As per Tosha Khana rules, gifts/gifts and other such material shall be reported to the persons to whom these rules apply.
However, the PTI, while in government, has been reluctant to divulge details of the gifts Imran Khan has presented to him since assuming power in 2018, saying that doing so would jeopardize international relations. Even the Pakistan Information Commission (PIC) ordered it. do so
On August 4, lawmakers from the Pakistan Democratic Movement – part of the ruling coalition – disqualified the PTI chief from public office under Articles 62 and 63 of the constitution for refusing to disclose details of Tosha Khana’s gifts. filed a reference for
He submitted the reference to the Speaker National Assembly who later forwarded it to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja for further action.
In his hearing on August 29, the ECP had sought a written reply from Imran by September 8. In his reply, the PTI chief had admitted that he had sold at least four gifts received during his tenure as Pakistan’s prime minister.
The former prime minister, in his reply, said that after paying Rs 21.56 million, he received around Rs 58 million from the sale of gifts received from the public treasury. One of the gifts included a Graff wristwatch, a pair of cuff links, an expensive pen and a ring while the other three gifts included four Rolex watches.
Reference
The reference against Imran was filed by MNA Barrister Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha, signed by legislators Agha Hasan Baloch, Salahuddin Ayubi, Ali Gohar Khan, Syed Rafiullah Agha and Saad Waseem Shaikh, and later referred to CEC Raja. was sent to
The ruling Muslim League (N) is confident that Imran will be disqualified in the reference because they say he did not declare in his assets the money he received from the alleged sale of government gifts.
In their disqualification reference, the MNAs of the ruling coalition adduced documentary evidence to substantiate their claims against the former prime minister and sought his disqualification under Sections 2 and 3 of Article 63 of the Constitution, read as Article 62(1). )(f) read with
Article 62(1)(f) states: “No person shall be elected or eligible to be elected as a member of the Majlis Shura (Parliament) unless […] he is sane, righteous and not moral, honest and Amin, no declaration is being made against him by the court.”
Article 63(2) states: “If any question arises as to whether a member of the Majlis Shura (Parliament) has become disqualified for membership, the Speaker or, as the case may be, the Chairman, shall, until he decides Do it. No such question has arisen, refer the question to the Election Commission within thirty days and if he fails to do so within the said period, it shall be deemed to have been referred to the Election Commission.
Whereas Article 63(3) reads: “The Election Commission shall decide within ninety days of the receipt of the question and if it is of the opinion that the member has become disqualified, he shall withdraw from membership. And his seat will be vacant.”
Tosha Khana Case
Last year, the PIC accepted the request of Islamabad-based journalist Rana Abrar Khalid and directed the Cabinet Division to “inquire about the gifts received by Prime Minister Imran Khan from foreign heads of state, heads of government and other foreign dignitaries.” The information requested in … should be furnished. . . description/description of each gift, information about the gifts held by the Prime Minister and the rules under which the gifts received are held by him.”
The Cabinet Division was asked to share the required information within 10 working days and also upload it on the official website.
Subsequently, the Cabinet Division had challenged the PIC’s order in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), claiming that it was “illegal, without legal authority”. The then government took the position that any disclosure of information about Tosha Khana would jeopardize international relations.
In April this year, the IHC had directed Deputy Attorney General Arshad Kayani to comply with the PIC order to make public the details of gifts presented by heads of state to former prime minister Imran since he assumed office in August 2018. Ensure import.
