RAWALPINDI: A key witness in the Toshakhana II case testified in a court that PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, had instructed him to withhold gifts received from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Former military secretary Brigadier (retd) Muhammad Ahmad told the court in his confessional statement that the former premier received gifts such as a Bulgari jewellery set, bottles of oud, olive oil, dates, and a book from the crown prince during a visit to Saudi Arabia in May 2021.
Ahmad, who served as military secretary from May 2020 to April 2022, said he was present during the Saudi visit from May 7 to 10, 2021, when the gifts were handed over.
He stated that the Prime Minister’s Office was informed about the gifts in writing after they were photographed, with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs present, under official protocol.
Ahmad stated that the gifts were valued at Rs2.91 million for Khan and his wife, an amount deposited into the national treasury.
According to him, the Toshakhana Section did not object to Bushra Bibi depositing the amount in exchange for the gifts.
He maintained that the deputy military secretary was responsible for valuing the gifts and corresponding with the Toshakhana after the former prime minister ordered him to do so.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has accused Imran Khan of undervaluing the Bulgari set with the help of a private appraiser.
According to the FIA officials, the set — comprising a necklace, bracelet, earrings, and a ring — was allegedly worth Rs75 million.
They argued that the former prime minister paid just Rs2.9 million for the set after undervaluing it at Rs5.9 million.
The confessional statement in the Toshakhana II case comes just days after Imran Khan’s former personal secretary, Inamullah Shah, and private appraiser Sohaib Abbasi were implicated in the case.
Earlier this week, Shah admitted to pressuring Abbasi into undervaluing the jewellery set.
“I asked Abbasi to reduce the value of the jewellery set,” he said, while claiming that he was later relieved from his post due to Bushra Bibi’s displeasure.
Abbasi admitted to undervaluing the set due to coercion and pressure from the senior officials.
He claimed that the former prime minister’s personal secretary threatened to have him blacklisted from government work if he did not comply with his demands.
Prior to his confession before the court, Abbasi had also recorded confessional statements before both the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman and a magistrate.
The NAB alleges that Imran Khan undervalued the jewellery set, worth more than Rs70 million based on market data
According to the NAB, the undervaluing of the set resulted in a loss of around Rs35 million to the national exchequer.
The NAB reference maintains that the PTI founder and his wife received as many as 108 gifts during his tenure as prime minister (2018–2022).
However, the couple did not deposit the Saudi Bulgari set in the Toshakhana as required by law.