After Imran Khan, it's now his wife's turn to be harassed by the Muslim League government. The Customs authorities in Pakistan have registered a case against Jemima Khan on charges of violating the Customs Act, 1969, by trying to export precious antiquitiesa pile of tilesto England.
The case was lodged after the archaeological department furnished its report to the customs authorities, declaring these tiles as antiques. Imran Khan has, however, dismissed the allegation that the tiles were being smuggled out of the country.
When approached by Outlook, a furious Imran maintained that the pml government wants to intimidate him for exposing Nawaz Sharif's corruption. This is sheer political victimisation. My political opponents have stooped too low. The ceramic tiles were purchased from a shop in Islamabad that had issued a certificate to Jemima that they were a replica of the original and were not antiques. Such tiles were imported by the shop from Iran and were being openly sold, he said.
Imran's aides blame the latest crisis on Sharif and allege that whenever Imran attacks the prime minister over his corrupt practices, he hits back with personal scandals. The Tehreek-e-Insaaf's Punjab president, Farooq Amjad Mir, was quick to highlight Imran's side of the story: Last October, when Imran staged a protest demonstration outside Sharif's London property, the League government launched a malicious propaganda campaign, giving an impression that the Jemima-Imran marriage was about to be over. And now, when this baseless propaganda has effectively backfired, Imran's political opponents have made another nasty move by implicating his innocent wife in a smuggling case.
According to the government, the customs authorities confiscated the tiles, being shipped by Jemima, on December 8 in Lahore. A shipping bill (No.03162 dated December 5, 1998) for free goods was filed by M/s Razziq International Pvt. Ltd, declaring 23 wooden cases containing 397 ceramic tiles gift items of no commercial value. The name of the exporter was Jemima Khan, 2-Zaman Park, Lahore, while the consignee's name and address was Lady Annabel Goldsmith, Ormeley Lodge, Ham Gatye Avenue Richmond, Surrey, England. The value for export purposes was declared as Rs 3 per tile.
The tiles in question are of paramount archaeological interest and belong to the Islamic era. These tiles bear strong affinity with the ones found at Makli Hills, Thattha and other Islamic centres like Isfahan. The tiles thus are definitely antiques in terms of the Antiques Act, 1969, the department's report said. The export of antiques without obtaining a licence from the federal department of archaeology is illegal. Had these tiles gone abroad, it would have been termed as plundering of cultural heritage.
Sources in the archaeology department claim some precious tiles, about 700 years old, were stolen from Uch Sharif in 1972. The tiles impounded from the export bill of Jemima Khan may finally turn out to be from the same old stolen stock from Uch Sharif, says the source. Arshad Mughal, an assistant director at Lahore's archaeology department, told Outlook that Jemima may be tried under section 26 or 27 of the Antiques Act, 1969, that provides for a maximum of six months rigorous imprisonment or a fine of Rs 5,000 or both. The case against her may be heard by a magistrate or a special judge, customs.
The customs officials, meanwhile, did not rule out stern action against the proprietors of the shop in Islamabad from where the tiles were bought. Imran, of course, challenges the archaeology department's report that described the tiles as antiques: I will get the tiles examined by foreign experts. I don't think a case against Jemima can be made on the basis of evidence the two government departments have produced.
In the first instance, he said, the customs department levelled allegations against his wife without soliciting expert opinion. A month later, another government department (archaeology) came out with a similar concoction. I have gone through the report. It only talks about an affinity and says they [tiles] look like originals. It does in no way say the tiles are antiquities, Imran observed, adding, the government is once again up to my character assassination. Quipped one observer: Imran may have been the lord of the cricket field, but the political arena is proving to be quite a different ballgame.
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