Why did Imran not declare costly gifts in next 10 visits to Arab states?

ISLAMABAD: If the official record is to be believed, former prime minister Imran Khan did not receive any expensive gift during his last 10 official visits to three friendly Arab countries from 2019 to 2021.

Khan had received expensive gifts worth millions of rupees only during his first visit to one of these countries in 2018. Later, he toured the three Arab states 10 times but declared no expensive gifts. In five of these 10 visits, Khan only declared to have received gifts of such a minimal amount which were even cheaper than those gifted and declared by other members of the entourage he was leading. In the remaining five visits, neither former PM Imran Khan nor any member of his delegation declared any gift.

The latest official information about the Toshakhana, shared with The News by sources, raises three major questions. Did Imran Khan not receive any expensive gift during these visits? Is it possible that he had received the gifts but not declared them with Toshakhana? Can the other delegation members receive more expensive gifts than the premier in such visits to these countries which are known for offering jewel class gifts as part of their tradition?

The “Toshakhanagate” scandal, which has resulted in disqualification of Imran Khan, gets more complicated and murkier in the light of fresh information shared by informed sources with this correspondent. The-then first lady accompanied former PM on four visits out of these total 10 trips. Bushra Begum, wife of Imran Khan, declared gifts from only one trip out of all. No other information is available regarding the gifts received by the-then first lady. The Toshakhana record available with The News further discloses that key delegation members of the-then prime minister Imran Khan like Fawad Chaudhary, Sheikh Rashid, Faisal Javed, Imran Ismail, Mirza Shehzad Akber, Shaukat Tareen, Hammad Azhar, Malik Amin Aslam and Moulana Tahir Ashrafi were the ones who did not declare to have received any gift from these friendly Arab countries.

The latest record shows that Asad Umar accompanied Imran Khan on five visits to these Arab states but only declared one gift watch that he received from one of these states. With the then prime minister, Dr Abdul Razzaq Dawood also visited these friendly Arab states five times and declared two gifts from two visits -- a watch and a model deer. Zulfiqar Bukhari accompanied ex-PM on four trips out of the total 10 and declared gifts after only two visits, reveals the data.

The record maintained by the staff of ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan available with The News reflects that during these visits, gifts given to members of delegation accompanying the premier were way more expensive than the gifts given to former PM Imran Khan later declared them to the Toshakhana.

For instance, during their visit to a friendly country in February 2020, Imran Khan declared that he got a gift of table clock valued at Rs325,000. In this case, the gifts declared by accompanying ministers and low-grade bureaucrats are way more expensive than one declared by Imran Khan being as the head of the country as well as the delegation. The PSO to then PM declared a watch worth twice than what the premier got and Shah Mehmood Quraishi along with Zulfi Bukhari, Nadeem Babar, etc., declared watches having three times more worth than what ex-PM declared.

Sources claim that it has never happened that a Pak delegation with the premier has visited any of the Arab friendly states and did not receive jewel-class gifts from the hosts. In view of these senior officials, handing over jewel gifts to guest delegates from Pakistan is a tradition in these Arab states and gifts given to the premier by these rich Arab countries are of no comparison to the gifts that the other members of the delegations receive.

Official documents show a strange pattern. It reveals that except for declaring the “Jewel Class” super expensive gifts that Imran Khan received after his first visit to an important Middle Eastern state, the former premier did not declare any expensive gift during his 44-month long tenure. The News had questioned Fawad Chaudary and Shahbaz Gill about Imran Khan. Detailed questions were sent to both but none answered. This correspondent also questioned Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudary, Shahbaz Gill and Zulfi Bukhari about the gifts which they had received and about the trips in which they had disclosed nothing. Nevertheless, these questions were also unanswered.

During Khan’s first visit to a most-friendly Arab state, the former PM received royal class gifts like a jewel-studded watch, cuff links, pen and an expensive ring, which as per government evaluators were worth around Rs110 million. PM Khan sold the watch and paid Toshakhana 20 per cent of the value. These are the same famous watches reported earlier in the media. However, after six subsequent visits to the same friendly country, PM Imran Khan either declared gifts of very nominal value or declared nothing at all.

A former military secretary to the PM said on condition of anonymity that it is not understandable how the value of gifts given to the prime minister can be less than those given to ministers and government officers. They further revealed that in their experience there is no comparison between the gifts given to the prime minister and the rest of the entourage. In their view, value of gifts given to the prime minister is usually in tens of millions of rupees as witnessed in the first visit of the-then prime minister Imran Khan to a major Gulf state in September 2018, which incidentally is the only visit in PM Imran Khan’s tenure in which all the gifts were fully and properly documented. The former military secretary said that these Arab friendly states give most expensive gifts as they believe it to be part of their tradition. “It is impossible that a Pak delegation goes to some Arab country and comes back emptyhanded without any gifts,” said the former military secretary.

After three visits to the same most-important friendly Middle Eastern country in October 2018, October 2019 and December 2019, Imran Khan did not declare any gift nor did any member of his entourage comprising ministers, SAPMs, advisers and senior personal staff. However, during the fourth visit to the same kingdom, Imran Khan declared gifts of very nominal value but nothing expensive or jewel class was declared by him, shows the latest record.

After a visit in May 2019, Imran Khan and key members of entourage declared gifts, but certain strange anomalies are seen in these declarations. Imran Khan declared that he received one box of Oud wood, two bottles of “attar” (scent) and one tasbeeh (prayers beads). The value of these gifts was determined by official evaluators as Rs510,000. Imran Khan paid half the amount and retained these gifts. However, other members of the entourage including the first lady Bushra Begum, ministers Murad Saeed, Atif Ali Khan and SAPM Naeemul Haq declared no gifts. But strangely former foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood, who accompanied the PM on this visit, declared that he received a Rolex Oyster watch, which was evaluated at Rs1 million, though the value of this exclusive Swiss watch on website is approximately Rs7 million. Strangely, the gift given to a Grade 22 officer is more expensive than the one given to the prime minister.

In another visit to the same friendly country in September 2019, former PM Imran Khan declared four gifts worth only Rs29,700. These were honey, dates and prayer mat and were retained. In this visit, also First Lady Bushra Begum and accompanying minister declared no gifts. Former PM Imran khan visited the same friendly state in July 2021, along with the first lady and a large entourage comprising ministers, SAPMs and governors of Sindh and KPK. After this visit, the PM declared gifts worth only Rs296,500, mostly Oudh, Oud wood box, olive oil, coffee and dates, but nothing expensive or jewel class, although the first lady during this visit declared expensive jewelry like necklace, ring, earring and a bracelet of diamonds, evaluated by Cabinet Division for Rs5.8 million. In this visit, the then ministers like Sheikh Rashid, Malik Amin Aslam, Shahbaz Gill, SAPM, declared no gift. However, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood declared two bottles of perfumery worth Rs25,000.

In the last, visit to the same friendly country, the prime minister traveled along with the first lady and a 44-member entourage. On return, Imran Khan declared perfumed oil, 20kg food items, like coffee, olive oil and honey worth Rs416,000. No gift was declared by the first lady. Accompanying ministers Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Hamad Azhar, Shaukat Tareen and Malik Amin Aslam also declared no gift.

In November 2018, PM Imran Khan again visited a Gulf state and declared gifts like crystal model of mosque, a few models of deer and a few silver frames. He retained the mosque crystal model worth Rs80,000. In his last visit to the same friendly Gulf Arab state in February 2019, PM Imran Khan declared no gift. | Prime Minister Imran Khan went on the first official visit to another very friendly country in the region, which is also the largest LNG producer in the region in January 2019. He was accompanied by eight senior ministers, advisers and SAPMs. On return, PM Imran Khan declared having received a table clock worth Rs5 lakh as a gift and retained it after paying 50 per cent of the official valuation price. It is quite perplexing to note in the Toshakhana papers that all the ministers, advisers, and SAPMs declared gifts which are more valuable than the gift given by the host ruler to PM Imran Khan. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umer, Sarwar Khan, Razak Dawood, Zulfi Bukhari, Nadeem Babur, all declared that they had received luxury Cartier watches officially valued by Cabinet Division at Rs6 lakh each, showing that the gift given to ministers is more valuable than the one received by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In the same visit, Foreign Secretary Ms. Tehmina Janjua declared that she received a watch valued at Rs1.35 million and Chief of Protocol declared that he received a Rolex watch valued at Rs2m, revealing that bureaucrats declared gifts which were many times more expensive than the one given to ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The Toshakhana record shows ex-Prime Minister Khan visited the same friendly country again in Feb 2020, and on return he declared that he got the gift of table clock valued at Rs325,000. In this case, also the gifts declared by accompanying ministers and low-grade bureaucrats are more expensive than one declared by PM Imran Khan. Shah Mahmood Qureshi (Hublot watch Rs750,000), Nadeem Babur (Rolex watch Rs830,000), Zulfi Bukhari (Rolex watch Rs830,000), Brig Waseem Cheema MS to PM and Rana Akbar Hayat PSO to PM (Bvlgari watch each Rs625,000) and SP Police/Security officer Manzoor Ghauri (Bvlgari watch Rs387,000). The pattern revealed by official documents is the same, gift of PM is less than half the value of gift given to ministers and personal staff like MS, PSO and security officer.

While talking to senior officials, it was learnt that each and every gift irrespective of value has to be fully documented and recorded. It is the joint responsibility of three key senior officials, the Chief of Protocol in the Foreign Office who accompanies the PM on every foreign visit, the ambassador of Pakistan in the host country and Military Secretary (MS) to the Prime Minister. It is a standing procedure with the host royal protocol of Gulf states that they hand over an official list of gifts given to the visiting dignitary and his entourage to Pakistan’s Chief of Protocol representing the Foreign Office. It is duty of Chief of Protocol to hand over that list to Military Secretary to PM and Toshakhana in the Cabinet Division.

The record of Toshakhana and foreign office reviewed by this correspondent shows that in none of the above narrated 10 visits, the prescribed procedure was followed. No list of description of gifts given by host states provided to the Chief of Protocol office is available in the record. Thus, the only document which is a check on non-declaration or misdeclaration by public office holders is not available in the Foreign Office or Toshakhana or PM Office record, for all these ten visits.