Pakistan’s EC bans former PM Imran Khan for concealing government assets worth 14 crore

Reportedly, Imran Khan did not deposit gifts from other countries he received as Prime Minister in the Government Toshakhana but rather kept or sold them

image source: Reuters

Islamabad: Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been disqualified for five years from holding public office on Friday, October 21, 2022, by the Election Commission of Pakistan on the charges of concealing assets. The four-member panel, led by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, at the ECP Secretariat in Islamabad, issued a unanimous judgement and stated that if Imran Khan is found to be engaged in corrupt practices, criminal proceedings will be filed against him. Imran Khan has been found ineligible to be elected as a member of the Majlis Shura (Parliament) or the Provincial Legislature under any law for the term of the current assembly under section 63-13, according to the verdict.

Pakistan's election commission disqualified former Prime Minister Imran Khan from holding public office over charges of unlawfully selling state gifts received from heads of other nations & foreign dignitaries: Reuters reported citing local media pic.twitter.com/6zIUQYggjX

— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2022

The ruling coalition government lawmakers had filed a case with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in August against Khan, seeking his disqualification for failing to reveal the proceeds from the sale of gifts that he purchased at a discounted price from the state repository, also called Toshakhana.

It is reported that Imran Khan did not deposit gifts from other countries he received as Prime Minister in the Government Toshakhana, but rather kept or sold them. Almost every country has a rule that presents received by the Prime Minister from other countries do not belong to the Prime Minister, but to the post on which that leader is sitting. As a result, all gifts become part of the government's treasury.

According to the sources, Imran Khan received approximately 58 gifts throughout his three-and-a-half-year tenure whose entire worth is said to be more than Rs 14 crore. The opposition claims that Imran Khan purchased these items from the Toshakhana at a low cost and subsequently sold them at high prices in the marketplaces. Sources say that he has earned Rs 15-16 crore. 

However, Imran Khan has denied the claims, accusing that the opposition is fabricating them for political gains.