A Toshkhana is a treasure house wherein gifts that are received as honour are kept. It could be anything – paintings, sarees to other artefacts. It is managed by the MEA. The MEA has its own rate of evaluation done by dedicated personnel.
Several countries have Toshakhanas. In India, as per protocol, all gifts received by the Prime Minister and other officials from overseas have to be deposited in Toshakhana for evaluation. A Toshkhana is a treasure house wherein gifts that are received as honour are kept.
Government of Pakistan has Toshakhana for gifts to state of Pakistan from other states or head of states. A Sikh Toshakhana is located on the first floor of the Darshani Deorhi, the gateway to the Harimandar. Bangladesh has a Toshakhana.
According to reports, the cricketer-turned-politician got 31 presents between July 2018 and June 2019 but only paid for four of them because, under the guidelines, gift with a value of less than Rs 30,000 can be kept without any payment.
Further, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Khan also received as many as nine presents between July 2019 and June 2020 and paid Rs 1.71 million for three of them. He also claimed that he gifted these presents to some unknown people.
One of the gifts was a package containing a diamond ring, a pair of gold and diamond earrings, and a locket. He reportedly deposited Rs 0.544 million to get this jewellery.
Khan is also said to have received 12 gifts between July 2020 and June 2021 and paid Rs 12.90 million for five of them. Meanwhile, between July 2021 and June 2022, he reportedly received at least six gifts and paid Rs 3.10 million for two of them.
According to the PTI Chairman, several functionaries got a total of 329 presents during his tenure. Out of these, at least 58 gifts were presented to Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi from August 2018, to December 2021.
These gifts included vases, works of art, lockets, and ornamental items. Only 14 of these gifts, totaling more than Rs 30,000, were purchased by him by paying money in accordance with standard protocol.
In a response to the Election Commission in the Toshakhana case against him on September 7, Khan had admitted selling at least four gifts he had received while serving as Pakistan’s prime minister.
He also claimed that after paying Rs 21.56 million for the presents from the state treasury, the sale of the gifts brought in roughly Rs 58 million. According to him, these gifts included a graff wristwatch, a pair of cuff links, an expensive pen, a ring, and at least four Rolex watches.
According to media reports, the move is expected to further worsen the nation’s ongoing political unrest. Speaking to media persons, the PTI leader and former minister Fawad Chaudhry denounced the move taken by the Election Commission. The move by the Election Commission comes only days before Khan was expected to announce his much-anticipated march on Islamabad to compel prime minister Shahbaz Sharif-led incumbent government to call for early elections.
Meanwhile, members of Khan’s PTI party were outraged by the move and urged supporters to take to streets in order to show protest against the commission’s decision.
A timeline of the case
On October 21, 2022, the ECP maintained that the former prime minister made “false statements and incorrect declarations” about the gifts and disqualified him under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution.
Subsequently, the election watchdog moved a sessions court in the federal capital, seeking criminal proceedings against the PTI chief for allegedly misleading the ECP regarding gifts received from foreign dignitaries while he was in office.
The trial court indicted the PTI chairman on May 10 and rejected his petition to declare the case inadmissible.
On July 4, 2023, the IHC overturned the trial court’s ruling and directed it to rehear the petitioner and decide the matter within seven days.
On July 8, 2023, ADSJ Dilawar declared the Toshakhana case against Khan as maintainable, which was again challenged in the IHC.
During the trial proceedings, Khan’s lawyers also accused the presiding judge of bias on the basis of his Facebook posts and sought the transfer of the case.
On August 2, 2023, the trial court rejected the list of witnesses presented by the PTI chairman, stating that he failed to prove their “relevance” in the criminal proceedings against him. It was also challenged in the high court.
However, the PTI chairman again moved the high court seeking a stay and transfer of the case to another court.
On August 4, 2023, IHC Chief Farooq referred the matter back to the trial court with a direction to re-examine the jurisdiction and any procedure lapse in the filing of the complaint by the Election Commission.
On August 5, 2023, the trial court found the former prime minister guilty of misdeclaration of state gifts.
However, on August 29, 2023, the IHC suspended Khan’s sentence awarded to him in the Toshakhana case but his conviction and disqualification remained intact.
On December 24, 2023, the Supreme Court Registrar’s Office returned Khan’s appeal challenging his conviction in the Toshakhana case, raising objections over the incomplete documents.
On December 26, 2023, Khan again approached the top court seeking nullification of his conviction in the case and the trial court’s verdict.
On January 9, 2024, an accountability court indicted Khan and his spouse in the Toshakhana reference.
