Islamabad: Former Prime Minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan has submitted his written response to the Election Commission in connection with the Tosha Khana reference.
It may be noted that in the previous hearing, the Commission had given a deadline till today to submit the written reply, on which the details of all the gifts received during the tenure of power have also been provided in the reply submitted today.
A 5-member commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja held a hearing on the Tosha Khana reference filed for Imran Khan’s disqualification, in which Imran Khan’s lawyer Barrister Ali Zafar appeared.
At the beginning of the hearing, the Chief Election Commissioner said that the previous hearing had instructed that the answer should be submitted before today’s hearing, on which Barrister Ali Zafar apologized and said that I admit that I am wrong.
He said that the reference sent by the Speaker has been submitted under Article 63, in the reference, Imran Khan’s disqualification has been sought under Article 62 OneF, while the disqualification under Article 62 OneF is not the jurisdiction of the Election Commission but the Judiciary. Is.
The commission said if you want to challenge the jurisdiction, file a separate application, while adjourning the hearing till September 19.
In a written reply on behalf of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Election Commission was told that 58 gifts were presented to the Prime Minister and his wife between August 1, 2018 and December 31, 2021.
It was reported that these gifts mostly consisted of flower vases, tablecloths, decorative items, wall decorations, small carpets, wallets, perfumes, rosaries, calligraphy, frames, paperweights and pen holders, but they included watches, pens. , cufflinks, rings, bracelets/lockets were also included.
In reply, he said that in all these gifts, there were only 14 items worth more than 30,000 rupees, which he bought by paying money according to the regular procedure.
As per the details provided in the reply:
Out of 31 gifts received from July 2018 to June 2019, 4 gifts were received after a total payment of Rs.2 crore 15 lakh 64 thousand.
9 gifts were received from July 2019 to June 2020, out of which 17 lakh 19 thousand 700 rupees were paid for receiving 3 gifts.
From July 2020 to June 2021, 5 of the 12 gifts received were purchased for which a total of Rs 1 crore 16 lakh 85 thousand 250 was paid.
During July 2021 to June 2022, 6 gifts were received, out of which 2 gifts were purchased by paying Rs.
The reply also stated that all the four gifts purchased between the year 2018 and 2019 were sold before June 2019 due to which they were not mentioned in the statements of this financial year.
Similarly, the gifts received during 2019-2020 were gifted by the defendant or on his behalf to someone else and they were not in his possession till June 2020, so they were not mentioned in the assets, however, in the tax return. They were disclosed in the filing expenses.
Additionally, the value of 5 gifts purchased during 2020 to 2021 was disclosed in returns filed on December 29, 2021.
It was also informed that from July 2021 to April 2022, 2 gifts were received from Tosha Khana, which are yet to be included in the current year’s tax returns, while the asset returns up to June 30, 2022 should be submitted by December 31 this year. However, the challan for the amount paid for these gifts is attached with the reply.
The reply said that Imran Khan has made all the assets through legal means and nothing has been kept hidden from the public or the Election Commission.
Later speaking to the media, Imran Khan’s lawyer Barrister Ali Zafar said that the speaker of the National Assembly sent the reference without thinking, we have provided evidence of the payment of gifts in the written reply.
He said that the Election Commission can take action in 120 days for non-declaration of assets, now the action period has passed, this is a political reference.
He said that according to Tosha Khana rules, Imran Khan received gifts after 50% payment, for which we have submitted all the challan forms to the Election Commission.
He further said that after receiving the gifts, they have been disclosed in the income tax returns and Election Commission.
