Imran vs Zardari: Tale of two Toshakhana cases

ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari is being slandered by PTI chief Imran Khan publicly for acquiring vehicles illegally from Toshakhana but documentary evidence says he did not violate any rules. Unlike Imran Khan, who has admitted that he sold gifts received from foreign governments, the PPP supremo continues to retain the items in accordance with the existing Toshakhana rules, which do not allow their sale for profit.

According to the Toshakhana rules, gifts given by foreign states can be ‘retained’ by state officials within four months after they are deposited in the treasure house. The emphasis in various sets of rules that have been enacted so far is that the functionary ‘can retain’ gifts upon payment of a minimum price.

Imran Khan has termed the Toshakhana case part of a larger character assassination campaign against him. But the case against Imran Khan is more substantial; he has violated several rules, according to a recent report in The News. 

The report, based on a reference filed against Imran Khan, said he had failed to disclose gifts valued over Rs140 million that he retained in the statement of assets and liabilities. Besides taking many gifts home for free, he is also accused of retaining them at a price far less than what he was actually supposed to pay, according to the Toshakhana rules and law.

It was also alleged in the reference that Imran Khan had made payments for retention of some precious gifts after selling them in the open market. Unlike Imran Khan, former president Asif Ali Zardari acted legally and according to the procedure while retaining vehicles from the Toshakhana, according to a former bureaucrat who is privy to the case. Most importantly, these vehicles are still in the former president’s possession.

Meanwhile, documents provided by a senior Pakistan Peoples Party aide and examined by The News, show that Asif Ali Zardari was gifted vehicles by the heads of the United Arab Emirates and Libya. They were then purchased by Zardari after fulfilling procedural requirements, which included valuation and registration.

The NAB, in its reference filed in March 2020, had named the owners of the Omni Group, as suspects in the case. However, documents provided by the PPP insider show that the group had purchased the cars on Zardari’s behalf and there was no illegal activity. The former president is a sugarcane grower, with large landholding in Sindh, and supplies cane to sugar mills. The vehicles were purchased on Zardari’s behalf by the Omni Group from payables dues for the sugarcane supply.

“The amount deposited on Zardari’s behalf is miniscule compared to the sugarcane supplied by him,” the PPP insider said. “The NAB refused to acknowledge the undeniable relationship of the former president, a seller of sugarcane, and the Omni Group, which purchased it. Even then, the NAB cannot claim the Omni Group had received any benefit in this case, as there was none.”