ISLAMABAD: The Elec­tion Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday gave another week to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan to submit his reply in the Toshakhana case against him.

Barrister Gohar Ali Khan while appearing before a five-member bench of the commission, headed by the Chief Election Commissio­ner Sikandar Sultan Raja, pleaded for more time to file a reply.

He said the main lawyer for the PTI chairman, Barrister Ali Zafar, was in Lahore and he was unable to consult him on the matter. He said he would try his best to submit the reply at the next hearing.

The CEC observed that since everything was part of record, it must not take so much time to submit a reply.

However, the PTI chief was granted more time and the hearing was adjourned until September 7.

National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had earlier this month sent a reference to the ECP seeking disqualification of Mr Khan in the light of the Toshakhana case. In the reference, it was said Mr Khan did not declare the gifts taken from Toshakhana in his assets and the detail of the amount he received by selling those gifts.

Earlier in April, the former prime minister, while responding to the Toshakhana controversy during an informal media chat, had said those were his gifts and it was his choice whether or not to keep them.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2022