Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi indicted in new Toshakhana case – Pakistan

Incarcerated former premier Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were indicted on Thursday in a new Toshakhana case — the third graft reference against them — concerning the purchase of an expensive Bulgari jewellery set at a throwaway price.

The indictment comes a week after the PTI founder and other party leaders were charged in a case concerning the attack on the army’s General Head­quarters in Rawalpindi during last year’s May 9 protests.

While Imran was granted bail in the case by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) last month, he has remained in prison on multiple charges since his arrest on August 5 last year.

Special Court Central-I Judge Shahrukh Arjumand presided over the proceedings today at Adiala Jail, where Imran was presented. Bushra Bibi, who is on bail in the case, appeared with her counsel.

Both Imran and Bushra denied the charges.

Subsequently, the court summoned the prosecution witnesses on December 18 to record their testimonies.

Today’s indictment is Imran’s seventh — the previous being on May 10, 2023 in the first Toshakhana case against him; in January in a second Toshakhana reference; in February in the £190 million corruption case; and recently over the GHQ attack. Imran’s sentences in the previous two Toshakhana cases were suspended.

He was also indicted on Dec 13, 2023 in the cipher case and in January in the Iddat case — in both of which the suspects were later acquitted.

The couple’s trial in the £190 million case has reached its final stage, with the couple testifying before an accountability court this week.

In the most recent case, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) accused the couple of retaining an expensive Bulgari jewellery set gifted by a foreign leader — including a necklace, earrings, bracelets, and rings — at a low price, saying it caused significant loss to the exchequer.

Last month, Imran’s counsel rejected the allegations, stressing that the gifts were acquired under the 2018 Toshakhana policy, with payments made in accordance with valuations by customs and appraisers. The defence argued that the appraiser, Sohaib Abbasi, was coerced into altering his statement to implicate the PTI founder.

The couple were apprehended in the case on July 13, following their acquittal in the Iddat case the same day.

Bushra Bibi had also secured bail in the case from the IHC on October 24, allowing her to be freed the next day after nearly nine months of detention.

Judge Arjumand had already dismissed the couple’s acquittal pleas on November 14, also deferring the indictment for another four days.

Earlier, Judge Arjumand had set the couple’s indictment in the case for October 2. However, it was deferred to October 5 on the defence counsel’s request for more time. A day prior to that, the judge had rejected their post-arrest bail petitions.

After the Supreme Court upheld amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws in September, the case was transferred to an FIA special court from an accountability court.

In its reference filed with the court, NAB accused Imran and his wife of illegally retaining the jewellery set gifted to Bushra by the Saudi royal family during their visit to the kingdom in May 2021.

The anti-graft watchdog further alleged that during his term as prime minister, Imran and his wife had received a total of 108 gifts from different heads of state and foreign dignitaries.

Of those gifts, they allegedly retained 58 gifts against an undervalued amount of over Rs142m. “Out of these 108 gifts, the accu­sed persons retained 58 gift boxes/sets against an undervalued amount of Rs142.1 million as assessed by appraisers,” the reference said.

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