Toshakhana case: All documentation completed as per procedures, claims IK

ISLAMABAD: The jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed on Friday that all documentation in the Toshakhana gifts case was completed in accordance with official procedures, citing testimonies from his former military secretary, Brigadier Muhammad Ahmed, and deputy military secretary, Colonel Rehan Mehmood.

In a statement posted on X, Khan referred specifically to the Toshakhana II case, noting that the testimony of the prosecution’s key witness had been exposed in court as false just weeks earlier.

Following this, he added, both Brig Ahmed and Col Rehan had affirmed that the relevant documentation had followed official channels.

Khan argued that the lawyers were in agreement that the case should have been dismissed at the outset. “Despite this,” he said, “a maliciously motivated and fabricated case continues to be carried forward.”

He characterised the legal proceedings against him as “politically motivated, fabricated, and a travesty of justice”, alleging that the aim was not accountability, but to ensure his continued imprisonment “at all costs”.

Khan also dismissed the Cipher case as “the most expensive political case in the country’s history,” alleging that tens of millions in public funds had been spent on what he claimed was a politically driven investigation.

“It was so devoid of evidence that it should never have proceeded beyond the trial court,” he said, accusing the authorities of using national security as a pretext to pursue political opponents.

Turning to the Al-Qadir Trust case, Khan described it as “an assault on a charitable institution established for the welfare of youth”, and said the trust had been founded a full year before the funds in question were approved by the Supreme Court.

“Even though the trial court dismissed the case, we have been waiting for a hearing in the Islamabad High Court since January. Only now, 10 months later, has a hearing been scheduled for October 16,” he added.

The former prime minister also raised concerns about Judge Muhammad Bashir’s handling of the Toshakhana II proceedings, alleging a pattern of “selective justice”.

He noted that the same judge had overseen three Toshakhana-related cases over the past 12 years, and questioned why similar cases involving political rivals had not progressed.

“By law, vehicles cannot be taken from the Toshakhana, yet Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari and Maryam Nawaz have all done so unlawfully, with irrefutable evidence on record. Why, then, is only my case being fast-tracked,” he asked.

Khan also condemned what he described as “vindictive actions” against his close allies, claiming that Zulfi Bukhari’s property was being auctioned in retaliation for his refusal to give false testimony.

“This is not rule of law. This is Asim Law,” he said, in an apparent reference to the current military leadership. “Under this system, if you are aligned with those in power, no crime matters. But if you oppose it, you are buried under fabricated cases.”

Describing the current political climate as “the worst example of state-sponsored victimisation”, Khan warned of the long-term consequences of systemic injustice.

He also pointed to economic indicators, claiming that more than three million Pakistanis had left the country over the past three years.

He blamed rising poverty, declining exports and widespread industrial closures on “incompetent, corrupt governance shielded by selective justice”.

“I urge every Pakistani to rise – not for me, but for your own future and the future of this nation,” he said. “This system cannot continue. Get ready.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025