On Wednesday, Pakistan’s opposition parties accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of selling gifts he received from foreign heads of state, including a $1 million watch.
During a state visit, gifts are regularly presented between heads of state or officers holding constitutional offices. Unless sold at an open auction, these presents remain the property of the state, according to the regulations of the gift repository (Toshakhana).
“Imran Khan has sold the gifts he received from other countries,” PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz tweeted in Urdu.
According to the head of the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Maulana Fazlur Rehman, there are rumours that Prime Minister Khan has sold a valuable watch he acquired from a prince. “This is a disgrace,” he remarked.
Khan was reportedly given a $1 million watch by a prince from a Gulf nation, according to postings on social media. Khan’s personal aide allegedly sold the watch in Dubai for USD 1 million and gave it to the prime leader. The prince is said to be aware of the sale of the watch he gave Khan.
Rana Sanaullah, the Punjab president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said at a news conference on Wednesday that Pakistan has been defamed as a result of the suspected sale of gifts received by the prime minister from foreign heads of state.
“Normally, Prime Minister Imran Khan deposits such presents with the Toshakhana; however, if he want to keep them, he must pay a fee,” he had stated.
After the Pakistan Information Commission sought details from the Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government in response to a citizen’s request, the Pakistan government refused to make public details of gifts given to the prime minister by foreign heads of state, claiming that doing so would jeopardise the country’s national interest and relations with other countries.
According to the Express Tribune daily, the PTI administration filed a lawsuit in the Islamabad High Court, claiming that the details of the gifts received by the prime minister were labelled as “classified.”
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