Imran Khan found guilty of corrupt practices by Pak EC; disqualified

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday pronounced former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan guilty in the Toshakhana reference for “not sharing details” of gifts and proceeds from their alleged sale. The four-member bench headed by chief election commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja unanimously disqualified Khan for five years as the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a member of the national assembly.

The charges have been put under Article 63(i)(iii) for submitting a false statement in the Toshakhana reference.

Khan will also be subjected to criminal proceedings for misdeclaration.

Lawmakers from the Pakistan Democratic Movement — the ruling alliance — had submitted the reference to National Assembly speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, who had subsequently forwarded it to CEC Sikander Sultan Raja for further action.

According to Toshakhana rules in Pakistan, gifts or presents received by persons to whom these rules apply should be reported to the cabinet division.

PTI, while in government, did not disclose details of the gifts presented to Khan since he assumed the office of the PM in 2018. They maintained that doing so would jeopardise international ties.

They did not disclose the details even as the Pakistan Information Commission (PIC) ordered it to do so, according to The Dawn.

In a written reply submitted to the ECP on September 8, Khan admitted to selling at least four presents he had received during his tenure as the prime minister.

Khan added that he procured the gifts from the state treasury after paying 2.1 crore Pakistani rupees. He sold them for 5.8 crore Pakistani rupees. The gifts were a graff wristwatch, a pair of cuff links, an expensive pen and a ring, while the other three gifts included four Rolex watches.