IHC
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that former Prime Minister Imran Khan cannot be prosecuted for failing to deposit a Bulgari jewelry set — a gift from the Saudi Crown Prince — into the state treasury as required under the Toshakhana rules. This ruling came during the hearing of Imran Khan’s post-arrest bail petition in the Toshakhana case.
In a 14-page detailed judgment, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb explained that the Toshakhana rules of 2018 only required the submission of a receipt for the gift, rather than the physical deposit of the gift itself.
The court emphasized that the changes to the rules in 2023, which introduced penalties for non-submission of gifts to the state treasury, could not be applied retroactively to actions that occurred prior to the rule amendments.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had initiated criminal proceedings against Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, accusing them of procedural violations and undervaluing the Bulgari jewelry set, resulting in a loss of Rs 32.8 million to the national exchequer.
The FIA argued that Imran Khan influenced the undervaluation of the gift. However, the IHC judgment noted that no direct threats or pressure had been linked to the former premier in this case.
Additionally, the IHC judgment highlighted that the testimony of Sohail Abbasi, who had evaluated the gift, remained unrecorded despite being a sworn witness after being pardoned by the head of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The court also acknowledged that Imran Khan’s defense maintained that the receipt for the gift was submitted to Toshakhana as per the 2018 rules, and therefore no law had been violated.
The IHC further pointed out that although Imran Khan had been in detention for more than four months, he had not been formally indicted. The trial process had faced significant delays, with the investigation completed by NAB before the case was transferred to the FIA.
In the ruling, Justice Aurangzeb also warned against the misuse of bail, stating that Imran Khan must appear at all trial court hearings, or else his bail could be canceled.
Meanwhile, the cross-examination of Toshakhana Section Officer Bin Yamin was completed before the FIA’s special court, and the court has summoned additional prosecution witnesses for the next hearing on January 8.
Separately, the decision in the £190 million corruption reference against Imran Khan has been postponed again due to the absence of Judge Nasir Javed Rana of the accountability court. The verdict, which had been reserved on December 18, is now expected to be announced on January 13.
The reference involves allegations that Imran Khan and his wife misused their authority in 2019 to “legalize” £190 million, seized by the UK’s National Crime Agency and returned to Pakistan, for real estate tycoon Malik Riaz.
NAB claims that Khan and his wife received billions of rupees and land from Bahria Town in return. The prosecution also alleged that the trust created for this deal was only established after the money was adjusted, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the transaction.
