Bushra Bibi and Imran Khan kept the precious watch valued at Rs85 million gifted by Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman during his very first visit to Saudi Arabia on September 18, 2018, by paying only Rs17 million.

Imran and Bushra retained seven Rolex watches, multiple necklaces, bracelets, rings, multiple diamond chains, gold pens, and even dinner sets by paying little amounts of money.

Both Imran and Bushra hid these precious gifts from tax authorities in Pakistan for more than three years until it became scandalous. They never declared all the items.

The prices of the items given in the story are amounts of gifts as assessed by the former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government.

Usman Manzoor

The former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi retained all the 112 gifts worth Rs142.02 million from the Tosha Khana of the government of Pakistan by paying less than four caror rupees only, Fact Focus investigations reveal.

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From luxurious Rolex and other expensive watches (seven Rolex watches) to gold and diamond jewelry (including multiple necklaces, bracelets, rings, multiple diamond chains), an expensive pen to cuff links worth millions, dinner sets to perfumes, and Oud (fragrance), Imran Khan and his wife took Bushra Bibi retained everything that different states of the world were gifting to Pakistan.

The most expensive watch whose value was accessed at Rs85 million (Eight Caror and fifty lac rupees) by Khan’s own government was gifted to him by Saudi crown prince Muhammad Bin Salman when he visited Saudi Arabia on September 18, 2018, by paying one caror and seventy lac only to retain this precious gift.

PM Imran Khan reaches Saudi Arabia on his first official foreign visit: he is accompanied by few cabinet members, including foreign minister @SMQureshiPTI and finance minister @Asad_Umar. #PMIK @ImranKhanPTI pic.twitter.com/1MTZ7k8dLC

— PTI (@PTIofficial) September 18, 2018

According to the known data, this is the most expensive gift given to Pakistan and retained by any Prime Minister in recent history. As revealed by Shumaisa Rehman of Fact Focus her investigation #FerozewalaFiles reported on March 18, 2022, Imran Khan hid these precious gifts from tax authorities in Pakistan. After hiding this precious watch gifted to Pakistan for three years, Imran rushed to declare this item in his tax returns for the financial year 2020-21 only when his retention of Tosha Khana items became the biggest scandal corruption scandal in the country.  

Imran Khan did not mention any of the retained Tosha Khana gifts in his returns filed for the financial years 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21. Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi did not file any return during this period. In fact, Bushra Bibi never filed a return in her entire life and she only got herself registered with the tax authorities of Pakistan in July 2021.  

According to Cabinet Divisions documents Khan paid a total of Rs38.17 million against the gifts retained worth Rs142.0421 million. It is worth mentioning here that Khan also retained gifts worth Rs800,200 for free. The most important fact is that Tosha Khana can only maintain the details of the items which are handed over to the protocol officer of the Prime Minister. There are many gifts that are given directly to the Prime Minister and the protocol officer is absent. Such gifts cannot be recorded. A comprehensive list of Tosha Khana items being released by the Fact Focus today does not include the gold-plated Kalashnikov gifted to the former Prime Minister Imran Khan by Saudi crown prince Muhammad Bin Salman.

Retaining gifts received from foreign dignitaries by Pakistani politicians and officials have been a norm for a long time but in the case of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi it is far beyond mere a norm. Imran Khan who heads Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf and is protesting against the newly formed coalition government after being unceremoniously removed from the office of the Prime Minister through a vote of no-confidence is likely to come under the scrutiny of the Election Commission of Pakistan and the courts as he has been retaining Tosha Khana gifts since 2018 but only mentioned them in his returns in 2021 that too after immense pressure from ordinary citizens and the opposition parties. 

On March 18, 2022, Shumaisa Rehman had reported for Fact Focus that in November 2020, after news spread about retaining (and the subsequent selling) of some precious ‘Tosha-Khana’ gifts given to Pakistan by dignitaries of friendly foreign states by top government functionaries, a citizen Rana Abrar Khalid filed a Right-to-Information application to the Cabinet Division requiring details of the ‘Tosha-Khana’ gifts retained by the PM Khan and their value. However, the Cabinet Division refused to provide details. Consequently, Khalid petitioned the Pakistan Information Commission (PIC).

On January 21, 2021, PIC ordered the Cabinet Division to provide the details of the ‘Tosha- Khana’ gifts retained by PM Khan along with their value to the petitioner and also publish the same on the Division’s website.

It is important to note that when PIC sought comments from the Cabinet Division, the latter refused to provide the information without disclosing any reason. Under the law, a government department is bound to provide detailed reasons to the PIC in case it decides not to provide any information in response to an RTI application.

Fact Focus investigations reveal that when the Tosha-Khana scandal became the talk of the town, PM Khan submitted his annual returns for the tax year 2020-21 on September 30, 2021, much earlier than the dates of submission of his returns in previous years, and declared a “precious Tosha-Khana item” by mentioning an amount of Rs11.68 million. 

Below is the detail of gifts received and retained by Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, their value, and the amount paid by Khan to retain the gifts. 

One Watch Rolex Gent’s Rs900000; one Rolex watch ladies Rs400000; one Iphone Rs210000; two gents suites Rs30000; one perfume Dolce&Gabba Rs35000; two perfumes Bvlgari Rs30000 and Rs26000;

One perfume Rubi Rs40000; one Voilet Samsonite Rs6000; one Voilet Aigner ladies Rs18000; one ball pen mount blanc Rs28000; received on 9-11-2018. All these items were retained against a payment of Rs338600.

One watch (Graff) valued at Rs85000000; Pair of cuff links Rs5.67 million; one pen Rs1.5 million; one Ring Rs8.75 million received on 18-09-2018. For these Khan paid Rs20.278 million to retain these items.

One watch Rolex values Rs3.8 million was retained after paying Rs754000 and another Rolex watch worth Rs1.5 million received on 1-10-2018 was retained after depositing Rs294000 in the national kitty.

2 kg Oud Rs200000, two bottles of Attar Rs180000; One Tasbeeh (Mouward) Rs130000 received on 19-06-2019. Khan paid Rs240000 to retain these items.

One watch worth Rs1900000 was received on 26-12-2019 and was retained against payment of Rs935000.

A Rolex watch Rs4408000; pair of cuff links Rs255000; one ring Rs230000; unstitched cloth Rs7000; one necklace Rs10970000; one bracelet Rs2430000; one ring Rs2836000 and a pair of ear rings Rs1856000 were received by Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi on 29-09-2020 and retained against a payment of Rs9.031 million.

One locket with chain( Gold and Diamond) Rs269350; one pair of ear tops (Gold and Diamond) Rs111800; two rings gold and diamond Rs149400 and Rs272350 each; two bracelets gold Rs235500. These gifts were presented to Begum PM of Pakistan on 11-10-2019. A sum of Rs544000 was deposited in the government account against these items.

Noritake Dinner set (26 pieces) Rs110000 received on 4-3-21 was retained after paying Rs40000.

Another Noritake dinner set (34 pieces) Rs100000 and a pair of cufflinks Rs20000 were received on 4-3-2021 and were retained after paying a sum of Rs45000.

Begum PM Pakistan on 21-05-2021 also received a necklace Rs1359000; ear rings Rs275000; ring Rs225000; bracelet Rs4000000. She retained all this against Rs2914500.

Olive oil and coffee worth Rs104000 and Ajwa dates worth Rs17000 were received on 15-11-2021 and were retained for Rs193000.

Oud wood, two bottles of oud, two chogas worth Rs254000; dates, honey, olive oil bottles and coffee worth Rs42000 and a book Craft of Kingdom Rs 500 were received on 21-05-2021 and were retained after paying Rs133250.

Other gifts retained for free include one decoration piece priced Rs20000 received on 29-08-2018; one table mat received on 4-9-2018 valued Rs30000; one decoration piece (Rs8000) one locket (Rs20000) received on4-9-2018; Model of Makkah Clock tower (Rs25000) received on 6-9-2018; a decoration piece (Rs9000) gifted on 10-09-2018; one wall hanging (Rs8000), one decoration piece (Rs25000) received on 13-09-2018; one flower vase Rs15000 received on 30-10-2018; one tea set valued Rs3500 received on 9-11-2018;

one decoration piece Rs15000 and 8 books received on 14-11-2018; one wall hanging Rs15000; two decoration pieces Rs25000 and Rs30000 each; one frame Rs20000 and one flower vase Rs30000 received on 9-1-2019; one carpet Rs20000 received on 16-01-2019; one frame received on 15-03-2019; table watch, card holder and paper weight Rs3500 received on 11-04-2019; a gown, oud and two small perfumes Rs30000 received on 17-04-2019; one carpet Rs30000, one calligraphy Rs5000 received on 26-04-2019; one flower vase Rs30000, one carpet Rs30000; wall hanging Rs 30000 and a model of truck received on 2-5-2019; one paper wall hanging Rs5000 received on 16-06-2019;

one decoration piece of Rs23000 received on 28-06-2019; two decoration pieces worth Rs 30000 were received on 7-10-2019; two boxes of dates, two jai-e-nimaz, two tasbeeh, six bottles of honey worth Rs29700 were received, and retained on 14-10-2019; a piece of carpet and a decoration piece worth Rs22000 received on 18-10-2019; one wool carpet received and retained on 13-12-2019 was valued at Rs28000; a ladies hand bag gifted to Ms. Bushra Bibi worth Rs5000 was retained on 11-02-2020; one carpet Rs3000 and a wall hanging Rs20000 were received on 26-10-2020

Another wall hanging worth Rs15000 was received on 10-11-2020. A decoration piece of Rs20000 was received on 4-12-2020; a carpet Rs32000 received on 18-01-2021 and another carpet Rs22000 on 22-02-2021; gemstones of Sri Lanka Rs5000 and a Tasbeeh Rs2500 was received on 4-3-2021. A chessboard was gifted on 30-07-2021 worth Rs27000; a model door of Khana Kaaba was Rs20000.

One Onyx bowl Rs22000 and a model of the key of Kaaba Rs6000 were received on 17-08-2021 and retained. Oud wood Rs250000; two bottles of oud (oil) (Taif Rose Bridge Rate) Rs36000; three chogas Rs9000.

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