‘Kya jurm huva agar gharri baich di’: Fawad Chaudhry admits to allegations on Khan selling Toshakhana gifts
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has revealed that former premier Imran Khan took gifts worth Rs140 million from Toshakhana and sold them in Dubai. Sharif made these claims during a meeting with senior journalists at PM House on Friday, reports Ayaz Akbar Yousafzai for The News.
“I can confirm that Imran Khan took gifts from Toshakhana and sold them in Dubai for Rs140 million. Valuable gifts include diamond jewellery, bracelets, watches and sets,” revealed PM Shehbaz.
Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry said that Shehbaz Sharif is confused and cannot fathom how to level allegations against PM Khan so he has resorted to “throwing dirt at Imran Khan”.
Fawad Chaudhry claimed that Khan bought a watch from the government of Pakistan, which he had received from a foreign country, and sold it.
“What is the offence if the [then] prime minister sold the watch he bought from the government? It doesn’t matter if the watch is worth Rs50 million or 100 million […] if it is mine and I sold it, there shouldn’t be any objection,” said Chaudhry.
So what if Imran Khan sold the gifted watch in 5 crore rupees when he was PM, Fawad Chaudhary says pic.twitter.com/8nmSe0IiOL
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) April 15, 2022
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had been reluctant to share details about gifts retained from Toshakhana, leading to speculations.
According to official Cabinet Secretariat statistics from the past 10 years, officials and public office holders of PTI paid highest amount for subsidised Toshakhana gifts in the fiscal year 2018-2019.
Toshakhana is a word of Persian origin that literally translates into “treasure-house”. In Mughal ruled India, Toshakhana was a place where princes stored gifts and emblems of honour that they received for their posterity, whereas in modern times, it is where gifts received from foreign dignitaries or countries are kept.
READ MORE: PTI govt to auction gifts, including golden gun, Rs1.7 crores watch, Rs1.4 crores diamond set