Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan Another verdict was handed down, this time in the Toshakhana case. The politician and his wife Bushra Bibi received 14 years in prison. writes Dawn. Khan was banned from holding public office for ten years, and both will have to pay fines of 787 million rupees (about $3 million).
Toshakhana is a repository of gifts to government officials from government officials in other countries, which is under the control of the country’s cabinet. Recipients must transmit gifts worth more than 30 thousand rupees (just over $100) to Toshakhana, and if they wish to keep them, they are required to pay 50% of their value.
Khan was accused of hiding gifts given to him. As reported by Dawn, during his tenure he received 108 gifts from foreign leaders and politicians, but kept 58 for himself. Their value was underestimated.
In particular, this happened with the Graff jewelry set from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, which Bushra Bibi received during her official visit. The gift was reported to Toshakhana, but it was not handed over there for evaluation. It was carried out by a private appraiser, who estimated the underestimated value of the gift at 18 million rupees (about $65 thousand). As a result, approximately 9 million rupees (approximately $32 thousand) were paid for its preservation.
Kommersant.Ru, 05/10/2023, “Pakistan is seriously wounded”: Imran Khan and his wife are accused of corruption and using the family fund Al-Qadir Trust to embezzle 50 billion Pakistani rupees (about $175 million) from the state budget during the creation of Al-Qadir University. […]
Let us recall that earlier Imran Khan became involved in a number of criminal cases relating to charges of terrorism, illegal financing, attempted murder and the sale of gifts from foreign leaders received during his tenure as prime minister. At three trials, which were held in the same complex of buildings, Imran Khan appeared in person and until recently avoided arrest by posting bail. The court in the gift sale case is located in another building, half an hour’s drive from other courts, and this allowed the defense to ask the court to exempt their client from participating in the hearings. — Insert K.ru
The day before, on January 30, Khan received another sentence – he received ten years’ imprisonment for disclosing state secrets. The charge stemmed from the former prime minister’s statement at a rally in March 2022 that he had received an encrypted document from a foreign state that had “conspired with his political rivals” to remove Khan’s Justice Movement party from power. . This was considered the theft of diplomatic encrypted documents. Along with him, the former head of the country’s Foreign Ministry and Khan’s party member Mahmud Qureshi received a prison sentence.
The third sentence was handed down to the ex-prime minister in August 2023: he received a three-year sentence for money laundering.
Khan headed the government of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022. In the spring of the same year, he was removed from office after a parliamentary vote of no confidence, in May detained. This led to protests in the country. The Supreme Court eventually ruled Khan’s arrest illegal, and he released on bail.
IslamNews, 04/08/2019, “The Prime Minister of Pakistan, married to a Sufi ustaz, responded to rumors of family discord”: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has commented on rumors that his marriage to Bushra Maneka, a Sufi ustaz (spiritual mentor), is on the verge of collapse. Khan denied rumors circulating in the media about discord in family life with his third wife. According to the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic, his murshid wife is a real “God’s blessing”, and he intends to live with her “until his last breath,” IslamNews quotes with reference to GulfNews.
Bushra Maneka, a Sufi ustaz and a renowned healer in Pakistan, was previously married to a high-ranking customs official. After a long period of spiritual work with Imran Khan, she received a marriage proposal from him, and the couple’s marriage took place at the beginning of the year. It is worth noting that before this, Khan had been married to British television producer Jemima Goldsmith since 1995; the marriage produced two sons who live in London. In 2015, Imran married TV presenter Reham, but the marriage with her lasted less than a year. — Insert K.ru