On Wednesday, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and PTI chief Imran Khan was indicted in the Toshakhana case. This is a day after Khan was detained from outside the Islamabad High Court in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Khan was sued in August 2022 by the coalition government, which was led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), on the grounds that he failed to disclose information about presents given to Toshakhana and the money made from the illegal sale of some of the goods.
Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan indicted in the Toshakhana case pic.twitter.com/MBHP9b8GOq
— ANI (@ANI) May 10, 2023
In the meanwhile, earlier today during the hearing, the court postponed making a decision on the National Accountability Bureau’s request for a 14-day physical detention of Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case. Security at Police Lines in Islamabad’s H-11 was intensified with a significant increase in the number of police personnel deployed before Khan was brought before the court.
In addition, protests grew in intensity in a number of Pakistani cities, including Quetta, Karachi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, and Lahore, resulting in at least one fatality and several injuries. According to local media sources, PTI supporters stormed the Pakistan Army headquarters in Rawalpindi and the Corps Commander’s home in Lahore in unprecedented scenes.
According to the reports, today around 130 police officials were injured in clashes with Imran Khan’s supporters in Punjab province and over 25 police vehicles were set on fire. More than 14 govt buildings were gutted and looted after Khan’s arrest, the police confirmed.
Earlier last year, the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified former Pakistan PM Imran Khan from Parliament for submitting fake statements in the Toshakhana case. He had been disqualified for five years after parliamentarians from the governing coalition government in August last year filed a lawsuit seeking Khan’s disqualification for failing to declare the earnings from the sale of presents acquired at a discounted price from the state repository, also known as Toshakhana.
Toshakhana gifts case:
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been mired in controversies ever since he was elected to the highest office in Pakistan. He has been accused of retaining gifts, received by the Office of the Prime Minister from other countries, either for free or at throwaway prices. As reported earlier, the controversies surrounding him only intensified after his removal from office in a no-confidence vote on April 10 this year.
Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi retained 112 valuables that were gifted to the PM’s Office between August 2018 and December 2021. The duo obtained 52 of the items worth PKR 800200 without ‘paying a single penny’. The former Pakistani Prime Minister retained the remaining 60 valuables worth over PKR 141 million by paying a total of PKR 38.17 million. Among the presents retained were a Graff wristwatch, cuff links, an expensive pen, a ring, and four Rolex watches.
The former Prime Minister was further accused of selling the Toshakhana gifts in Dubai. Current Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and his party members including Marriyum Aurangzeb, and Ahsan Iqbal had further alleged that Khan had sold a watch, necklace, gold plated AK47 and a jeep and had failed to show the sales in the income tax returns. Also, in an exclusive report published by Fact Focus, it had come to light that Imran Khan earned more from Toshakhana gifts in 2 months than he did in the first 66 years of his life.
However, Khan defended his actions by claiming that he had paid 50 per cent of the value of the gifts. He conceded that he sold the Toshakhana valuables (which allegedly belonged to him) to repair the Bani Gala road (located next to his residence).
Notably, the Islamabad High Court had earlier noted that gifts received by the Office of the Prime Minister cannot be retained by him after vacating office. “Individuals come and go but the office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan is permanent. These gifts are not meant for taking home,” Justice Aurangzeb said adding that all such gifts must be recovered by the State if they have been retained.
Viral news claimed the death of Imran Khan
On May 9, some of Pakistani viral tweets claimed that Imran Khan was dead. The Twitter users also shared two old photographs of Khan to support their claim regarding Khan’s death. This is after the PTI chief was detained by the Rangers from the premises of the Islamabad High Court.
The news of Imran Khan's death is circulating on social media.https://t.co/rc6D7SdmZm#ImranKhan #ImranKhanArrest #ImranKhanArrested #ImranKhanOurRedLine #Pakistan #Karachi #Islamabad #Balochistan pic.twitter.com/Z0WqQafDdj
— Conflict News🚨🚨 (@ConflictNews6) May 10, 2023
However, on May 10 it was confirmed that the leader was alive but was being treated dreadfully by the Pakistan Police. The leader was not allowed to go to the washroom for last 24 hours and that his health had deteriorated. According to one of the viral tweets, he had requested to see some Doctor Faisal.
🔥Imran Khan has requested to see his Doctor Faisal.
— 🌹خـــͫــͣــͥـــــانـــــزادی🌹 (@Gene5AK) May 10, 2023
🔥He hasn't been allowed to go to the Washroom for 24hrs
🔥He doesn't want to be treated like Maqsood Chaprasi and be given slow death by injections.
From NAB Court.
Is this Islamic Country???
even non Muslim Countries allow… pic.twitter.com/LQLDqIkUTr
Later one of the Twitter users stated that the images of Khan which went viral claiming leader’s death were from the time when he had fallen from the stage.
This picture is from when he fell from stage.
— خواجہ احمد (@bin_afzal_) May 9, 2023
I deleted my tweet.
GHQ Rawalpindi
Lahore
Peshawar#ImranKhan pic.twitter.com/PD0sKtcHxT
Imran Khan was detained in Islamabad
Following Imran Khan’s detention in Islamabad on Tuesday, there were several large-scale and violent demonstrations all around Pakistan. The leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was detained as he entered the grounds of the Islamabad High Court to attend the hearing of the Al-Qadir Trust case. Pakistan Rangers, a government paramilitary law enforcement organisation, took him into custody. Videos indicated that the Rangers smashed off the glass windows to enter the room after PTI employees refused to unlock the door.
Khan was detained in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case, in which he and his wife Bushra Bibi are charged with forcibly buying land from a business tycoon. According to a report, they are under investigation by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for allegedly collecting Rs 5 billion and hundreds of kanals (of land) from Bahria Town [a real estate corporation located in Islamabad] in return for the company’s defence in a money laundering case.
Leaders of the PTI have claimed that the ex-PM has been transferred to a “secret location” and raised concern that he would be tortured. In many cities around the nation, protesters flocked to the streets and got into fights with police and other security officials. In Quetta, there has already been one death and five injuries. Unrest was also reported from Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and Rawalpindi. In light of the events, mobile and internet services have been halted throughout the nation. In Pakistan, access to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube has also been blocked.
