Pakistan's Imran Khan sentenced to 3 years in jail in Toshakhana case: What is it?

Imran Khan was arrested on Saturday (5 August) after an Islamabad trial court sentenced the former Pakistan prime minister to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case, reported Reuters. Pakistan’s election commission had found Khan guilty of illegally selling state gifts worth over 140 million Pakistani rupees ($635,000) during his tenure as the premier from 2018 to 2022. “Judge Humayun Dilawar announced that involvement in corrupt practices has been proven,” Pakistan TV said. According to Dawn, the trial court also imposed a fine of 100,000 Pakistani rupees on the politician for hiding details of Toshakhana gifts. Khan’s lawyer Intezar Panjotha confirmed to Reuters that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman was arrested from his residence in Lahore. “We are filing a petition against the decision in high court,” Panjotha said.   Legal experts say this conviction could hit the cricketer-turned-politician’s chances of contesting the national elections, which have to be held later this year.   Earlier in May, Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case had sparked violent protests across the country. As per Al Jazeera, more than 150 cases were filed against Khan since he was ousted from power in April 2022. However, the PTI chairman has denied all allegations, calling the charges “politically motivated”.   Let’s take a look at the cases against the 70-year-old: Let’s begin by taking a brief look at Toshakhana. According to Pakistan Today, Toshakhana means the house of treasure. While that sounds grand and extravagant, the truth is actually much more mundane. Toshakhana is a government department under the cabinet division. Created in 1974, the state depository keeps gifts given to Pakistani officials (only the president and prime minister are exempt from receiving such gifts). If a gift costs less than Rs 30,000 the president or prime minister can keep the gift for themselves. However, more expensive gifts must be kept in the Toshakhana by law.

But there’s a loophole.

If an official wishes to hold onto the gift, he or she can pay a certain percentage of the gift’s value – so determined by the Toshakhana evaluation committee. That was usually around 20 per cent of the gift’s value – which Imran raised to 50 per cent after coming to power in 2018. The Toshakhana case According to Dawn, a journalist in 2020 enquired about gifts given to the then prime minister under the right to information law. That request was denied by the government with several ministers claiming that revealing such information could hurt Pakistan’s relations with foreign states. A complaint was then filed with the Federal Information Commission – which ruled against the Cabinet Division. However, the government still did not provide the details after which the journalist filed a case in the high court. The Islamabad High Court ordered the government to provide the details, but before the government could respond Imran was ousted from office in April 2022, as per Dawn. Imran was ousted from power in April after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China, and Afghanistan. In August 2022, the trouble really kicked off for Imran when Pakistan’s ruling alliance filed a petition with the election commission seeking his lifetime disqualification for not disclosing information regarding the gifts received from the Toshakhana in his assets declaration. The petition submitted by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) sought Khan’s lifetime disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) of the country’s Constitution which is the same provision under which former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified in 2017, according to Express Tribune. The petition asserted that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chairman did not disclose the information regarding the gifts received from the Toshakhana in his assets declaration and thus should be disqualified under the provision of Article 62(1)(f), which mentions the precondition for a member of parliament to be “sadiq and ameen” (honest and righteous). Meanwhile, Pakistani media reported that Imran earned Rs 36 million from the sale of three expensive watches gifted by visiting dignitaries from friendly Gulf countries. In October 2022, Imran was banned from holding public office for five years in the Toshakhana case by a five-member bench of Pakistan’s election commission. The ruling, which was unanimous, held that Khan was involved in corrupt practices. It also announced that action would be taken against him under the corrupt practices laws. That ruling came days after Imran’s party swept the crucial by-elections, winning six out of eight National Assembly seats and two out of three provincial assembly seats. Imran, who contested seven National Assembly seats in the crucial by-elections, emerged victorious in six constituencies. The former prime minister informed the ECP during the hearing that the sale of the gifts that he had procured from the state treasury after paying Rs 21.56 million fetched about Rs 58 million. The gifts, among others, included a Graff wristwatch, a pair of cufflinks, an expensive pen, a ring and four Rolex watches. Responding to the Toshakana controversy, Imran claimed that those were his gifts, so it was his choice whether or not to keep them.

“Mera Tohfa, Meri Marzi [my gift, my choice],” he had said.

In November, criminal proceedings were initiated against Imran. The complainant, the Election Commission of Pakistan, claimed Imran had “deliberately concealed his assets relating to Toshakhna gifts retained by him particularly in year 2018 and 2019… in the statements of assets and liabilities filed for the year 2017-2018 and 2018-19”. In his affidavit, the district election commissioner stated that he was “authorised to follow the ECP verdict of 21 November”. “I have been given the authority to proceed by combining Section 190 with 16 and 173 of the Election Act 2017,” he continued, “this proceeding concerns the corrupt practices of Imran Khan”. The affidavit also took notice of the authority that rests with the ECP to seek the disqualification of a member of the national assembly on the basis of a reference. Later, the judge prohibited Khan’s lawyer from submitting his bank statement, saying the politician “cannot submit a photocopy, it must be certified”. Adjourning the matter, the court recorded the district election commissioner Malik’s affidavit and postponed proceedings until 8 December. But before the case could further proceed, Imran was injured in an assassination attempt at his rally in the Wazirabad area of Punjab. Imran was granted interim bail by a special court in Islamabad after being shot and has since received extensions on his bail due to medical reasons. Terrorism case The Islamabad Police had registered a terrorism case against Imran, PTI secretary-general Asad Umar and 100 other party workers for allegedly vandalising state property in response to the Toshakhana case. Following the announcement of the verdict, PTI workers raised slogans against the government in large numbers outside the ECP office. Protesters in Peshawar blocked a road near Pir Zakordi bridge and Stadium Chowk. Protesters staged a sit-in outside the Election Commission of Pakistan’s office in Sindh, Geo News reported. Imran was granted interim bail by the Anti-Terrorism court (ATC) judge Raza Jawed till 9 March after he appeared in the judicial complex alongside hundreds of his supporters who thronged the vicinity. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had summoned the PTI chief on 9 March in connection with the Toshakhana case, reported Geo News. Attempt to murder case In October, Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and member of the National Assembly Saturday registered a case of “attempted murder” against Imran. The case was registered at the Secretariat police station in Islamabad a day after Ranjha was attacked outside the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) office in Islamabad, where PTI supporters were protesting ECP’s verdict disqualifying Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case. Ranjha in the FIR mentioned that he was attacked when he appeared as a plaintiff in the Toshakhana case at the commission. When Ranjha stepped outside the ECP he was attacked with the “intention of murder” at the “behest of PTI leadership,” Geo TV quoted the FIR as reading. Ranjha also claimed that his car was also attacked with attempts to break into it by smashing its glass. Prohibited funding case The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in October had filed a case in an Islamabad-based banking court against Khan and other PTI leaders over allegedly receiving prohibited funding. The prohibited funding case was filed by estranged PTI founding member Akbar S Babar in the ECP in 2014. The case had been registered by the FIA Corporate Banking Circle. The case’s First Information Report (FIR) stated that the accused including the former premier violated Foreign Exchange Act and all of the nominated persons were beneficiaries of the private bank account, as per ARY News. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .