A day after he was arrested in a corruption case, former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was indicted in the Toshakhana case on Wednesday.
The "Toshakhana" is a department that is in charge of valuable gifts received by government officials. It's alleged Khan did not disclose gifts presented to Toshakhana and that there were irregularities in sale of some of these gifts.
Khan's indictment comes amid widespread protest and violence following his arrest on Tuesday. Khan's supporters armed with batons targeted security services' installations, including the Pakistan Army's headquarters. Some of the worst violence and vandalism were witnessed in Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Karachi, and Rawalpindi.
Advertisement
Khan was arrested on Tuesday in a corruption case on the orders of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). He was picked up by paramilitary Rangers personnel who barged into a room of the Islamabad High Court where he came to attend a corruption case hearing.
The Dawn reports that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has sought criminal law proceedings against Khan based on references received by lawmakers from the ruling coalition.
"The ECP had approached the court on the matter on a reference filed by lawmakers from the ruling coalition last year. The reference alleges that Imran had 'deliberately concealed' details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana —a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept— during his time as the prime minister and proceeds from their reported sales," reports Dawn.
Advertisement
Khan, the chief of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) party, is fighting the Shehbaz Sharif-led ruling coalition and has also mounted a sharp attack on the military-intelligence establishment of the country, accusing it of being in league with his political opponents. Khan is accused in at least 81 cases.
This is a developing story. It will be updated as details emerge.
(With PTI inputs)
