A court in Pakistan has issued an arrest warrant on December 5 for former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, in a graft case, according to local media reports.
Khan and Bibi are accused of allegedly selling gifts worth more than 140 million rupees that Khan received during his tenure as PM and which belonged in state possession.
Earlier, the Islamabad High Court had bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a recent Toshakhana case.
The former prime minister has been accused of misusing his 2018-2022 prime ministership to unlawfully buy and sell gifts kept inside the Toshakhana, or treasure house – a government-owned department.
The gifts included — expensive cufflinks, expensive Rolex watches, a ring and a valuable pen. The priciest among the watches, a “Master Graff limited edition”,is estimated at $300,000, as per Pakistan’s information minister.
The controversy was first highlighted when the coalition government formed under Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) filed a case against Khan in August 2022. The PML-N claimed that Khan did not disclose information regarding gifts presented to the Toshakhana and also resorted to the “illegal” sale of certain gifts.
The Toshakhana stores gifts received by prime ministers, presidents, ministers, members of parliament and government officials. Khan was sentenced to three years in prison in August for selling state gifts worth more than 140 million Pakistani rupees ($500,000).
The Toshakhana rules - pertaining to gifts from the state treasury - state that government officials are allowed to keep gifts as long as they pay a price for them. However, the gifts should be first deposited.
The rules say that PMs and Presidents can keep gifts costing less than PKR 30,000 for themselves. Public officials can also pay 50 percent, updated by Khan in 2018 from 20 percent, of the gift’s value to retain other gifts.