Imran Khan: In relation to the Toshakhana case, a Pakistani court sentenced Imran Khan, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, to 14 years in prison. In addition, the pair was fined Rs 787 million Pakistani Rupees and prohibited from holding public office for ten years.
Ten-Year Sentence for State Secrets
This occurs one day after Khan and former Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood were sentenced to ten years in prison by a special court in Pakistan for stealing state secrets. Lawmakers from the ruling party brought the Toshakhana case against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in 2022, claiming that Khan had provided the electoral body with false information on the selling of official goods, according to news agency PTI.
Khan was imprisoned after the ECP first disqualified him and then brought a criminal case before a sessions court, where it was found guilty. According to the lawsuit, Khan “deliberately concealed” information about the gifts he kept from the Toshaskhana, a storehouse that holds gifts given to government officials by foreign officials, from 2018 to 2022, as well as the money from their purported sales.
Reporting Requirement for Gifts
Toshakhana regulations provide that any gifts, presents, or other items of a similar nature received by those covered by these regulations must be reported to the Cabinet Division. Throughout his three and a half years in office, Khan allegedly accepted 58 gifts from global leaders valued at over Rs 140 million. He kept all of the items, either by paying a little sum of money or not at all.
Imran Khan’s Detention in Lahore
On August 5, 2023, police detained Khan in Lahore following his conviction by a district court for unlawfully selling gifts from the state. This conviction may prevent the opposition leader from running in the next election. A day after Pakistan’s High Court momentarily halted the lower court proceedings, Khan was found guilty. Nevertheless, in spite of the ruling by the High Court, the district court has continued with the trial.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the nation’s premier anti-graft agency, which had also charged his wife in the case, conducted an investigation and led to the district court’s decision, which was connected to the case, according to the Reuters news agency. Following his split from his party and a falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military, Khan has suffered a string of setbacks that have damaged his political reputation, including this arrest.
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