ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former premier Imran Khan received notices from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday as it prepared to announce the outcome of the Toshakhana reference against Imran Khan on October 21.
The letter states that they must show up on time for the planned hearing at the Election Commission of Pakistan, either on their own or with the assistance of a lawyer (s). You may recall that the Election Commission had reserved its decision on the Toshakhana reference brought against Imran Khan on September 19.
In response to a request from five members of the ruling coalition, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Speaker of the National Assembly, forwarded the Toshakhana referral filed for Imran’s disqualification to the Election Commission. They claimed in the reference that Imran Khan failed to report the income from the sale of gifts he received from Toshakhana in his assets. Imran Khan’s disqualification under Article 62-1 is sought in the reference made according to Article 63 of the Constitution (f).
Imran’s attorney, Barrister Ali Zafar, asserted at the hearing that the Election Commission was not a court and that the disqualification provisions of Section 62-1(f) only applied to the courts.
Recall that on September 7, Imran Khan sent a written statement to the Election Commission in response to the Toshakhana referral. He detailed how the prime minister and his spouse received up to 58 presents between August 1 and December 31, 2021, in it.
Wallets, perfumes, tasbeeh, calligraphy, frames, paperweights, flower vases, tablecloths, decorative items, wall decorations, miniature carpets, pen holders, watches, pens, cufflinks, rings, bracelets, and lockets made up the majority of the gifts.
In addition, the former PM claimed that only 14 of all the gifts—all of which he received in exchange for payment in accordance with standard procedure—were more expensive than Rs30,000. Imran acknowledged selling four presents during his time as prime minister in his response. In his response to the Election Commission, he claimed that after paying Rs 21.6 million, he collected around Rs 58 million from the sale of gifts from the state exchequer. The first three gifts were four Rolex watches, while the others were a watch, cufflinks, a pricey pen, and a ring.
Imran has confirmed in the reply that he received gifts and that the items were not mentioned in the returns, according to PML-N attorney Khalid Ishaq, who had contended during the hearing that Imran had been asked about not revealing the gifts in the reference. In the reference, it was argued that Imran had concealed the specifics of gifts he had received from Toshakhana and the proceeds from their sale.
During a casual media interview at the beginning of April of this year, Imran had responded angrily to the criticism regarding the gifts. He said that since they were his gifts, he could decide whether to keep them or not.
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