Imran Khan sold gifts from Toshakhana for Rs 14 crore in Dubai, claims Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he can confirm that his predecessor, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, took gifts from the Toshakhana and sold them in Dubai, media reports said on Friday.

“Imran Khan sold these gifts for Rs 140 million in Dubai,” the PM was reported as telling journalists during an iftar he hosted on Thursday in the federal capital, Geo News reported.

According to Sharif, the expensive gifts that former Prime Minister Imran Khan traded for money included diamond jewellery sets, bracelets, and wristwatches. PM Shehbaz Sharif said that he also received a watch once, but deposited it to the Toshakhana, adding that he “does not need to hide anything”.

The premier’s revelation came in response to a question regarding a petition seeking the details of the Toshakhana that had been filed in the Islamabad High Court on which then PM Imran Khan had commented that the details cannot be revealed as per the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

Former federal minister and PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, however, refuted PM Shehbaz Sharif’s statement, saying that the new Premier is “throwing dirt on Imran Khan”.

He claimed that Khan bought a watch “that he received from a foreign country” from the government of Pakistan and sold it. “What is the offence if the (then) Prime Minister sold the watch he bought from the government?” he asked.

“It doesn’t matter if the watch is worth Rs 50 million or 100 million (…) if it is mine and I sold it, there shouldn’t be any objection.” He went on to say that he is unable to understand what exactly PM Shehbaz Sharif’s allegation is.