The Pakistani government on Sunday made public the record of Toshakhana gifts received by the former prime ministers and senior officials in the last two decades.
According to the record, former Prime Ministers and Presidents including Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif, Yousaf Raza Gilani, Asif Zardari, Pervez Musharraf and others received gifts worth millions.
The names of current prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Dr Arif Alvi were also included in the list. The 446-page record included gifts received in the Toshakhana from 2002 to 2023.
What is Toshakhana?
The Toshakhana department in Pakistan, established in 1974, stores gifts and other valuable items given to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats and officials by foreign dignitaries and heads of governments and states.
According to the law, it is compulsory for the officials to report the gifts and other such valuables to the Cabinet Division.
However, the President of Pakistan and the prime minister are exempt from the rule and can keep gifts costing less than Pakistani Rupee 30,000. The two premiers of Pakistan can retain the expensive gifts above the prescribed limit from Toshakhana by paying a certain percentage of the value assessed by the government.
The department has been in the news recently in view of the proceedings against former Prime Minister Imran Khan for “not sharing details” of Toshakhana gifts. Khan has been in the crosshairs for buying gifts, including an expensive Graff wristwatch he had received as the premier at a discounted price from the state depository called Toshakhana, and selling them for profit.
Gifts received by Imran Khan
According to the record, Imran Khan received a long list of gifts.
In 2018, Khan retained a Graff wristwatch (Rs 85 million), a pair of cufflinks (Rs 5.6 million), a pen (Rs1.5 million) and a ring (Rs 8.75 million) after paying Rs 20 million for them. In the same year, he also retained a Rolex watch, assessed at Rs 3.8 million after paying just Rs 754,000 for it.
He also retained another Rolex watch of Rs 1.5 million after paying Rs 294,000. He retained a third Rolex watch, valued at Rs 900,000 after paying a total of Rs 338,600 for it.
In the following years, he retained more watches valued at Rs 1.9 million and Rs 4.4 million by only paying Rs 935,000 and Rs 2.4 million respectively.
The record also showed that Imran Khan’s wife Bushra bibi also kept a necklace (Rs10 million), bracelet (Rs 2.4 million), ring (Rs 2.8 million) and a pair of earrings (Rs1.85 million) after paying only Rs 9 million for them.
Former President Asif Ali Zardari
Former President and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari retained a BMW car (Rs 57.8 million) and Toyota Lexus (Rs 50 million) after paying a total of Rs 16.1 million for both of them in January 2009. He also retained another BMW car (Rs 27.3 million) after paying Rs 4 million.
Zardari, among other items, also retained, a wristwatch (Rs 1 million) for Rs 158,250, a Corum wristwatch (Rs 1.25 million) for Rs 189,219, a Cartier wristwatch (Rs 1 million) for Rs 321,000 and a gun.
Nawaz Sharif
Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League (N) supremo Nawaz Sharif had a long list of valuable items he retained.
- The three-time former prime minister retained a Mercedes Benz (Rs 4.2 million) in April 2008 after paying Rs 636,888 for it.
- In November 2013, he retained a Rolex wristwatch (Rs 1.18 million) after paying Rs 243,000 for it.
- He kept a Piaget wristwatch (Rs 1 million) in January 2015 after paying Rs 240,000 for it. He also kept a box of perfumes.
- In January 2016, Sharif retained a Christopher Claret watch (Rs 2 million), a ring (Rs 19.5 million) and a pair of cufflinks (Rs 16 million) after paying a total of Rs7.6 million for them.
- His wife Kulsoom Nawaz retained a bracelet (Rs 12.7 million) and a necklace and earrings (Rs 41.6 million) after paying Rs 10.8 million for them.
- In Feb 2016, Sharif retained a deLaCour watch (Rs 3.2 million), a ring (Rs 8 million) and a pair of cufflinks (Rs 5 million) after paying Rs 3.2 million for them.
- In October the same year, he retained a Rolex watch (Rs 1.2 million) and another Rolex watch (Rs 850,000) after paying Rs 469,000 and other items.
- In March 2017, Nawaz Sharif’s son Hussain Nawaz retained a Rolex watch (Rs 940,000) after paying Rs 186,000 for it. Meanwhile, the PML-N supremo himself retained a diamond necklace (Rs 1 million) after paying Rs 207,560 for it and a table watch.
- In May 2017, Nawaz retained a Rolex wristwatch (Rs 4 million) after paying Rs 808,000 for it.
As per the Toshakhana records, the former Pakistani President received gifts worth Rs 6.5 million in 2004. He got a watch valued at Rs 5,000 in 2005.
Musharraf received luxury watches and jewellery boxes during his career, which he retained by paying the required amount. He also received gifts worth Rs 1.4 million in January 2007.
Musharraf’s wife Sehba Musharraf also received gifts worth 1.65 million in 2006. In 2007, she received gifts worth 18 million.
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