Islamabad court issues notice to Imran Khan on a petition filed by ECP seeking criminal proceedings against him in Toshakhana case
ISLAMABAD, Dec 15, (SABAH): A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Thursday issued notice to former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insad (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on a petition filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) seeking criminal proceedings against him in the Toshakhana case.
District and Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal heard the case filed by the district election commissioner Muhammad Waqas last month following the ECP’s verdict, ruling that the ex-premier was guilty of corrupt practices.
The court had reserved its decision on the maintainability of the plea earlier this week. The trial will commence on January 09. The court has directed Imran Khan to appear personally before the court.
On November 22, the trial court took up the Toshakhana reference filed by Election Commission against Imran Khan for allegedly indulging in corrupt practices, which the former premier denies.
On the last hearing, ECP’s lawyer Saad Hassan appeared before the court and presented his arguments.
“Imran Khan said that he constructed a road with the money [acquired from] Toshakhana [gifts],” he said, adding that a prime minister has to deposit any gift they receive to the Toshakhana.
He further stated that the Toshakhana gifts could be retained after paying 20% of the gift’s price until the PTI government introduced a new law which allowed taking the Toshakhana gifts after paying 50% of its price.
“The price of the watch was estimated at Rs85 million,” he said, adding that Khan failed to state the amount for which he sold the Toshakhana watch. Hassan stated if any Toshakhana items were transferred then it was mandatory to mention them in the tax income statements.
“It is not possible to personally own an item from the Toshakhana without declaring it,” said the lawyer.
He said that the Election Commission “believes the income tax statements provided by the former premier in 2022-2021 are incorrect”, adding that the Toshakhana matter was brought to the National Assembly and the case was taken to the high court in 2020-2021.
Lawyer Hassan said that Imran Khan’s way of dealing with the Toshakhana gifts is tantamount to money laundering.
“Imran Khan said that he has deposited the amount [ he paid for] for all the items in the same bank account,” said the ECP’s lawyer, adding that the properties or gifts taken by Khan during 2018-2019 would be counted among his assets.
Imran Khan should’ve disclosed all his assets before Election Commission, said Hassan.
“Ex-premier also took jewellery from the Toshakhana but did not declare it.” The lawyer said that the former prime minister also talked about four goats and Rs500,000 in the statements.
The lawyer maintained that the former premier and his wife took a total of 58 gifts from Toshakhana during three years which were worth Rs142 million, at an amount equal to 20% of the gifts’ cost.
He said that Khan acquired the gifts from Toshakhana worth Rs107 million out of the said Rs142 million during 2018-19.
The lawyer further stated that Khan didn’t want to make the gifts worth Rs142 million public. “In 2019/20 Khan declared Rs8 million on account of tax returns but didn’t reveal which item’s price it was,” the lawyer stated.
The ECP had claimed that Imran KHan had “deliberately concealed his assets relating to Toshakhana 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”.
It had requested that the PTI chief be convicted for the offences mentioned under Sections 167 (corrupt practice) and 173 (making or publishing a false statement or declaration) of the Elections Act 2017.
The ECP’s counsel argued in a recent hearing, “It is a crime if someone, who is contesting for the Senate, provincial or National Assembly, does not declare his assets.”
Hasan had said that Imran had taken gifts worth Rs107 million during 2018-2019 and the gifts or property taken during that period would be included in his assets.
He had claimed that “Imran Khan actually did not even want that the gifts worth Rs142m are disclosed publicly.”
The ECP had previously disqualified Imran under Article 61(1)(p) of the Constitution which states that an individual is “for the time being, disqualified from being elected or chosen as a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (parliament) or of a provincial assembly under any law for the time being in force”.
The ECP’s verdict put the PTI chief at risk of ceasing to be the chairman of his party, as per an earlier judgement by the Supreme Court in February 2018 in which it had ruled that an individual disqualified under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution could not serve as the head of a political party.
Last week, the ECP also set into motion the process of removing Imran as the chairman of PTI, the next hearing for which has been scheduled for Dec 20.