Islamabad 8 August : The political system in Pakistan is founded on a sense of revenge, which results in making the person who wrote or the defender of one particular law the victim of his own fault.This vicious cycle of politics has impacted the life and career of numerous prominent politicians in Pakistan and will be a recurrent issue for former PM Imran Khan.The allegations against Khan in the Toshakhana case are more complicated than it appears and is a cause of grave concern to the former Premier.Although, on the surface of it the case may not appear to be part of an important corruption scandal that involved the embezzlement of thousands of dollars of public funds, it is nevertheless based on a fundamental stance taken by the Supreme Court on need for earnings to be disclosed by politicians as well as Premiers.
In the case of Nawaz Sharif In the case of Nawaz Sharif, the Supreme Court had disqualified him from taking part in the national political system for life and was the foundation for his demotion from the position of the Prime Minister.In the Sharif case, the alleged crime against him was that he had not declared a specific amount that he was supposed to receive (but was not yet receiving) from various sources.
The first part of the Supreme Court declaration in the case stated: “It is hereby declared that, having failed to declare the receivables he had not withdrawn as assets of XYZ sources in his nomination papers for general elections that were held in 2013.Sharif is ineligible to be a an elected member of Parliament in accordance with the Article 62(1)F of the Constitution.”
It is important to note that in the Nawaz Sharif case even the fact that he did not receive the money, the fact he was supposed to get it but had deliberately stayed clear of declaring it in the return statement of returns to the Election Commission, led the Supreme Court to come up with the decision that many members of the Pakistani legal community considered to be an ‘unpopular’ and ‘harsh’ ruling.But the fact is that the ruling was enacted and Nawaz Sharif was reprimanded from his the position.
The members of the PTI and PML-Q attended the celebration, appreciating the ruling of the Supreme Court.
According to the reports, Khan had earned around 36 million PKR by selling three watches he was gifted by dignitaries from abroad to an local watch dealer.
It is believed that Khan during his time as prime minister made millions of rupees from these watches that were with a value of 150 million PKR.The watches were given to Khan by foreign heads.The most expensive one, of greater than 101 million PKR value, was kept by Khan at 20 percent of its worth after the government modified the Toshakhana rules and set the price for gift retention at 50 percent (not 20 percent) of its original value.Furthermore, he did so without ever submitting the gift to the Election Commission and getting them assessed.
If Nawaz Sharif was deemed dishonest by the Supreme Court for not declaring the amount he did not receive, in the case of Khan receiving an amount through the sale of gifts he received during his overseas travels and not declaring it could pose a more grave danger to Khan.The precedent thus established by the Supreme Court would be a issue for Khan to be dealt with.
The most ominous part of the Khan case is that after receiving the expensive gifts he did not declare the gifts to the Toshakhana and kept the gifts with him until he was able to dispose of them.
Khan was the recipient of the majority of the gifts in 2018 during his international travels, and should have declared them in the statement of returns.
In addition, he did not declare the gifts he received in the year 2019 in the statement of returns and thus committed an egregious infraction of “dishonesty” to the people and the nation of Pakistan.
Although the Supreme Court decision against Nawaz Sharif was described as unusual and ‘drastic and was criticized by the legal profession and analysts of the political world, the fact is that the Supreme Court decision has become a precedent and is in place.
Furthermore, when you consider that Nawaz Sharif was forced to renounce the position of Premier Minister and was banned for all time from taking part in elections because of the ruling of the Supreme Court, there is no reason why the same rules should not be applied in Khan’s case.of Khan.
The Sharif brothers will make sure that Khan is not left out on this matter, even however Khan would attempt to use his supporters in the public domain in order to build a an opposition to the decision.The outlook is certainly grim for Khan as his fate is in the control of the judiciary and establishment.
