• Detailed order on bail plea says rules amended in 2023 can’t be applied retroactively
• FIA prosecutor completes cross-examination of Toshakhana official
• Much-awaited decision in £190m reference deferred again due to absence of judge

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC), in a detailed judgement on the post-arrest bail petition of former prime minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case, has declared that the accused cannot be prosecuted for failing to deposit a Bulgari jewellery set — gifted by the Saudi crown prince — to the state treasury under the rules.

In a 14-page verdict, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb explained that only the submission of a receipt was mandatory, and not the gift itself, under the Toshakhana rules of 2018.

While penalties were introduced in 2023 through changes in the rules for non-submission of gifts to the state treasury, the same could not be applied retroactively to actions from prior years, the court ruled.

The Federal Investiga­tion Agency (FIA) had initiated criminal proceedings against Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi, alleging procedural violations, undervaluation of the expensive jewellery set gifted by the Saudi crown prince, and a resulting loss of Rs32.8 million to the national exchequer.

The agency argued that Mr Khan influenced the ‘undervaluation’ of the gift. However, the IHC judgement noted “no direct threats or pressure” were attributed to the former premier in the case.

Besides, the detailed verdict also cited that Soh­aib Abbasi, who evaluated the gift, became a sworn witness after being pardoned by the head of the anti-graft watchdog Nati­onal Accountability Bur­eau (NAB), but his testimony remains unrecorded.

The court noted that the defence counsel maintai­ned that the receipt for the gift money was submitted to the Toshakhana as per 2018 rules, thus the accu­sed did not violate any law.

Justice Aurangzeb further observed that the former premier, despite being in detention for more than four months, had not been indicted. The trial faced significant delays, he noted, pointing out that the investigation had been completed by NAB before the case was transferred to the FIA.

Misuse of bail

The judge also noted that there was no fear of tampering with evidence in the case, but emphasised that bail conditions required Mr Khan to appear at all trial court hearings, warning that “misuse of bail can lead to its cancellation”.

Meanwhile, the cross-ex­a­mination of Tosha­khana Section Officer Bin Yamin was completed before FIA’s special court.

Judge Shahrukh Arju­mand also recorded the testimony of cabinet division’s deputy secretary coordination Mohammad Ahad in the case.

While a total of three witnesses provided evidence at Monday’s hearing, the court summoned four additional prosecution witnesses to record their statements at the next hearing on Jan 8.

Decision in £190m reference

On the other hand, a decision in the £190 million corruption reference was delayed once again due to the absence of Judge Nasir Javed Rana of the accountability court on Monday.

The pronouncement of the verdict, which has been postponed twice after being reserved on Dec 18, is now expected on Jan 13.

In its reference against Mr Khan, NAB alleged that the then cabinet approved a confidential deed in 2019 to give £190m — seized by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and returned to Pakistan — back to real estate tycoon Malik Riaz. It was alleged that then PM Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, misused the authority to “legalise” the money and in return received billions of rupees and hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town.

As per the reference, Malik Riaz’s son transferred 240 kanals of land to Farah Shahzadi while Zulfi Bukhari received land under a trust, which NAB argued did not exist at the time of transfer.

The prosecution further alleged that a trust was created only after the adjustment of the £190m, raising doubts about its legitimacy and purpose.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2025