RAWALPINDI:
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have submitted their statements under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in a case related to alleged violation of rules relating to storage of state gifts by the couple during Imran’s tenure as Prime Minister.
In his statement, Imran questioned whether simply failing to report a gift under the Toshakhana – gift repository – policy of 2018 could justify legal action.
He said Toshakhana’s gift – a Bulgari jewelry set – was received between May 7 and 10, 2021 during his visit to Saudi Arabia and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) subsequently escalated this into a case, accusing him and his wife of abusing the gift rule to obtain the set.
He said the rules were completely silent on the jurisdiction of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and therefore, on that basis, he and his wife should be acquitted in this “bogus case”.
Imran alleged that fabricated charges had been leveled against him since November 2022. He claimed that Inamullah Shah, the main prosecution witness, could not be trusted for several reasons.
He said Shah was removed from the prime minister’s office for dishonestly collecting two salaries and was working in Jahangir Tareen’s group.
According to the statement, when Inamullah Shah appeared as a witness in the first NAB reference, he then never mentioned the Bulgari jewelry set.
In her statement, Bushra Bibi said she kept the Bulgari jewelry set after paying for it in accordance with Toshakhana rules. She denied ordering Inamullah Shah to undervalue the package and clarified that he had first worked at the PTI Secretariat and then at the Prime Minister’s House.
Bushra Bibi said that even if, hypothetically, Inamullah Shah had undervalued the whole thing and given him a benefit of Rs 3.2 billion in May 2021, that is why he was fired only two months later, in July 2021, for simply receiving Rs 70,000 extra salary.
She said the prosecution’s case collapses because the facts are incorrect. She argued that the NAB did not have jurisdiction and that a price estimate from Italy could not be accepted as admissible evidence.
She further claimed that the NAB Chairman did not have the authority to grant pardon to approver Sohaib Abbasi on May 23, 2024 and the allegation that he sent a message through Inamullah Shah to undervalue the jewelry set was false.
Bushra Bibi said the FIA never conducted an investigation and had violated its own rules by submitting a fabricated report. She also noted that in the first Toshakhana case, witnesses Inamullah Shah and Sohaib Abbasi never mentioned the Bulgari set.
Declaring herself “pardah-nasheen”, Bushra said she never participated in any political activity and never asked anyone to undervalue the jewelry set. She added that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had already said in its order that the FIA had no jurisdiction to pursue such a case.
“No one can be punished twice for the same offense, as is the case in the Toshakhana cases. After failing to find anything in the prohibited financing and encryption cases, the FIA has now created this case.”
The court had earlier given a 29-item Section 342 questionnaire to the PTI founder and his wife, who submitted their statements to the court on Friday.
According to the FIA, Imran abused his position to acquire the jewelry set that the Saudi Crown Prince gave as a gift during the couple’s visit to Saudi Arabia in May 2021.
The set included a ring, a bracelet, a necklace and a pair of earrings. According to evidence collected during the investigation, Imran and Bushra illegally kept the set.
On May 18, 2021, the Deputy Military Secretary informed the Toshakhana Section Officer of the need to assess and declare the price of the gift, but it was not deposited.
Bulgari sold the necklace for 300,000 euros and the earrings for 80,000 euros to a Saudi franchise on May 25, 2018. However, the price of the bracelet and ring could not be determined.
As of May 28, 2021, the total estimated value of the Bulgari jewelry set was approximately Rs75,661,600. The necklace alone was valued at Rs56,496,000 and the earrings at Rs15,065,600.
According to Toshakhana rules, 50% of the price would amount to Rs35,765,800, but the jewelry set was undervalued, resulting in a loss of Rs32,851,300 to the national exchequer, the FIA claimed.
