The indictment of former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana issue was postponed until Saturday (January 6) by an accountability court in Rawalpindi on Thursday.
According to the facts, Judge Muhammad Bashir of the accountability court postponed filing charges against the former first lady and leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after Amjad Pervaiz of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) requested further time to present his case.
The anti-graft watchdog’s five-person special prosecution team is reviewing the reference against the pair.
The judge overseeing the accountability court, meanwhile, scheduled a new date for the filing of charges against Khan and Bushra Bibi. Khan was ousted from office in April 2022 due to a vote of no-confidence.
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The PTI supremo is currently being held at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where the court has recommenced hearing the case.
What is the case of Toshakhana?
Toshakhana, which means “treasure house” in Persian, has laws that allow government officials to keep presents that are of modest value while requiring them to pay a drastically reduced price to the government for extravagant ones.
Ever since the claims surfaced that Imran Khan bought the presents he was given as prime minister at discount prices and then sold them for enormous profits on the open market, the Toshakhana has been scrutinized closely.
The 70-year-old former politician and cricket player was charged with abusing his premiership from 2018 to 2022 to purchase and resell presents that were obtained while on official visits.
Government officials claim that timepieces from a royal family were among the gifts; they have previously claimed that Khan’s aides sold the watches in Dubai.
Seven wristwatches total—six produced by watchmaker Rolex and the most costly, a “Master Graff limited edition” at 85 million Pakistani rupees ($385,000)—were among the gifts.
According to the electoral commission’s order, Imran was declared ineligible by virtue of Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution.
