Shehbaz was speaking to a group of senior journalists in Islamabad when the topic was brought up. Earlier, some reports claimed that Khan’s decision to sell the precious articles his government received from Arab rulers on the Dubai market had irked the foreign dignitaries who had gifted the items to Pakistan.
Speaking to Geo News on Friday, former information minister Fawad Chaudhry seemed to confirm the allegations against Imran Khan.
“So far I don’t understand what he [Shehbaz] is referring to. He is referring to a watch that some foreign country gifted [and that] was bought by the prime minister and he [Khan] went abroad and sold it. What crime has been committed in this or what irregularity in involved,” Fawad Chaudhry said.
“I don’t understand what the objection is. If it is a watch priced at Rs80-90 million, or Rs100 or Rs50 million or Rs20 million, if it is mine and I have sold it, there should be no objection over it.”
Toshakhana, which means treasure-house, is a government department under the Cabinet Division and stores gifts government officials or MPs receive from foreign officials. The officials are legally required to deposit all the gifts worth Rs30,000 or above with the Toshakhana. Anyone who desires to keep a gift to themselves needs to pay its value to the government.
Shehbaz Sharif Friday told journalists that Imran Khan changed the rules of Toshakhana to retrieve the precious gifts he wanted to take away.
