Toshakhana case: Election Commission of Pakistan disqualifies Imran Khan in gifts case

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of Pakistan on Friday barred former PM Imran Khan from political office on charges he misled officials about gifts he received from foreign leaders while in power.
The case centres on a government department known as “Toshakhana“, which during the Mughal era referred to the “treasure houses” kept by the sub-continent’s princely rulers to store and display gifts lavished on them.
Government officials must declare all gifts, but are allowed to keep those below a certain value.
More expensive items must go to Toshakhana, but in some cases the recipient can buy them back at around 50 percent of their value — a discount Khan raised from 20 percent while in office. They included luxury watches, jewellery, designer handbags and perfumes.
Khan is accused of failing to declare some gifts or the profit made from selling them.
Established in 1974, the Toshakhana is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division and stores precious gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, and officials by heads of other governments and states and foreign dignitaries.