In a turn of events, the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday suspended former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s conviction and three-year sentence in the Toshakhana case.
A division bench comprising Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri ordered that Imran Khan be released on bail.
Khan was arrested earlier this month from his Lahore residence shortly after an Islamabad trial court declared him guilty of “corrupt practices” in the Toshakhana case and sentenced him to three-year imprisonment.
Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party, was lodged in the Attock Jail, the first Pakistani prime minister to face so.
Imran Khan’s dramatic arrest and his release come as Pakistan is heading for general elections later this year.
Why Was Imran Khan arrested?
Imran Khan was arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore on August 5 by the Islamabad police in coordination with the Punjab police after the court verdict.
A police team headed by Senior Superintendent of Police, Crime Investigation Agency, Malik Liaquat had taken Khan into custody. A picture of him sitting in a car with Khan also viral on social media.
Imran Khan was “found guilty of corrupt practices by hiding the benefits he acquired from the national Exchequer wilfully and intentionally. He cheated while providing information about gifts he obtained from the Toshakhana which later proved to be false and inaccurate. His dishonesty has been established beyond doubt,” the court order said.
He was convicted under Section 174 of the Election Act 2017 and sentenced to three years of simple imprisonment. Saturday’s verdict centred on charges that Khan incorrectly declared details of presents from foreign dignitaries and proceeds from their alleged sale.
What is Toshakhana Case?
The Toshakhana is a department under the Pakistan’s Cabinet Division that stores gifts given to rulers and government officials by heads of other governments and foreign dignitaries.
While the Prime Ministers and heads of state can retain gifts that cost less than PKR 30,000 for themselves, more expensive gifts must be kept in the Toshakhana under Pakistani law.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had filed a complaint against Imran Khan that he “deliberately concealed his assets relating to Toshakhana gifts retained by him, particularly in the year 2018 and 2019.”
Imran Khan and his wife got 111 gifts and retained most of them including a diamond watch, a pair of cufflinks, a ring, a pen and several watches.
According to a report in The Dawn, Khan “retained gifts worth more than PKR 100 million by September 2018, just weeks after coming to power, and paid PKR 20.1 million to keep them”. Other reports claimed that the gifts were more than PKR 140 million or $635,000.
In October last year, the ECP disqualified Khan in the Toshakhana case for making “false statements and incorrect declaration”. In May this year, a trial court rejected Imran Khan’s petition challenging the maintainability of the case and indicted the PTI chief, who denied all the allegations of misdeclaration of gifts.
Apart from the Toshakhana case, Khan has been slapped with more than 150 legal cases, including several on charges of corruption, terrorism and inciting people to violence over deadly protests.
Khan was indicted in the Toshakhana case in May which was filed last year on the complaint of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) which had disqualified him in the same case in October 2022.
Timeline of the Case
Following is a timeline of the main developments in the Toshakhana case:
- August 2022: National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf sent the Toshakhana case against Khan to the ECP in accordance with the Articles of the Constitution.
- September 19, 2022: ECP reserved judgment in the case.
- October 21, 2022: The ECP ruled that Khan made “false statements and incorrect declarations” about the gifts and disqualified him under the Constitution.
- November 21, 2022: The ECP moved a session court in Islamabad for criminal proceedings against Khan.
- May 10, 2023: The trial court indicted Khan.
- July 4, 2023: The Islamabad High Court overturned the trial court’s ruling on the maintainability of the case and directed it to rehear the petitioner and decide the matter within seven days.
- July 8, 2023: Judge Humayun Dilawar declared the Toshakhana case against Khan as maintainable.
- August 2, 2023: The trial court rejected the list of witnesses presented by Khan.
- August 4, 2023: Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq referred the matter back to the trial court with a direction to re-examine the jurisdiction and any procedural lapse in the filing of the complaint by the Election Commission.
- August 5, 2023: Judge Dilawar found Khan guilty of “corrupt practices” in the Toshakhana case and sent Imran Khan to jail for three years.
- August 29, 2023: Islamabad High Court suspends the Toshakhana verdict on Imran Khan’s appeal and orders to release him on bail.
What’s Ahead for Imran Khan?
Though the three-year-long prison sentence was expected to keep Imran Khan away from his political protests and a powerful bid to make a comeback, it remains unclear how the politics will unfold following his release.
According to the country’s law, people with criminal convictions are ineligible from running for public offices.
Khan remains Pakistan’s leading opposition figure and has support from his followers despite his ouster.
Khan’s release is set to offer fresh energy among his party workers and supporters, especially ahead of the national elections.
With inputs from agencies
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