Pakistan’s jailed former PM Imran Khan and his wife file petition against their arrest in new Toshakhana case

Islamabad, Jul 18 (PTI) Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on Thursday filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court against their arrest in a new Toshakhana corruption case after they were acquitted in all other cases.
     A district and sessions court on Saturday overturned the conviction of 71-year-old Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, 49, in the un-Islamic marriage case related to the violation of the mandatory waiting period for a Muslim woman between two marriages, which was the last case for which they were in jail.
     However, barely an hour after his acquittal in the un-Islamic marriage case, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested them in a new Toshakhana corruption case.
     Khan and his wife during his government allegedly obtained gifts from the gift repository at low prices and sold them at higher rates.
     The relief came a day after the Supreme Court in a key judgment declared that his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was eligible for the seats reserved for women and minorities in the national and four provincial assemblies.
     Two successive victories for Khan were being interpreted as some kind of change of heart on the part of the powerful establishment towards the PTI and its founder, but the subsequent developments belie any such possibility.
     The court in the Iddat case verdict stated that Khan and his wife should be released “if not required to be detained in any other case” and anticipating his release, a large number of PTI supporters accompanied by key leaders reached the Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, where they have been kept, to welcome them.
     But the PTI feared counter-measures by the government and announced that Khan would be arrested in three cases related to May 9 violence.
     Soon, the cricketer-turned-politician was arrested by Pakistan's Punjab police in 12 fresh terrorism cases related to the May 9 riots which erupted following his arrest in a graft case last year.
     Now the couple have sought relief from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against their arrest in the new Toshakhana case, the PTI said.
     The party stated that a “petition has been moved in IHC requesting (for) declaring arrest of Mr & Mrs Imran Khan unlawful” in the case.
     They argued that the arrest was illegal and requested their immediate release. They also requested that any future arrests in related cases should be subject to the high court’s orders.
     Earlier, after their arrest by the NAB, they were presented before a judge who granted an eight-day remand for further investigation. They are set to reappear in the court on July 22 at the end of the remand.
     Khan faces a slew of cases launched against him since his ouster from power in April 2022 after he fell out with the establishment, believed to be instrumental in bringing him to power.
     It is the third Toshakhana case and Khan’s sentence in the two previous Toshakhana cases had been suspended by the Islamabad High Court.
     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.
     The Toshakhana case over the sale of state gifts received by the former cricketer-turned-politician became a major issue in national politics after the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified Khan for making “false statements and incorrect declaration”.
     On Monday, the Pakistan government decided to ban Khan's party on charges of illegally receiving foreign funds, involvement in riots and alleged involvement in "anti-state" activities.
     The government led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party has also threatened to slap treason charges on Khan as well as on former president Arif Alvi, 74, among others.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)