THE claims by a Dubai-based Pakistani businessman that he is the one who had purchased a very expensive wristwatch and other articles, gifted to former prime minister Imran Khan by the Saudi crown prince in 2018, against a payment of $2m in cash, has opened a new chapter in the infamous Toshakhana saga. Appearing on a channel’s current affairs programme, Umar Farooq Zahoor, who is allegedly wanted in Turkiye and Norway for financial fraud, and in his home country in a child custody case, claims that Farah Gogi, a close friend of Mr Khan’s wife, had sold him the watch and other articles actually valued at $12m and gifted by Prince Mohammad bin Salman, after former accountability czar Shahzad Akbar, now in self-exile, put him in touch with her. His disclosures won’t have any legal bearing on the case against the PTI chief who was disqualified by the ECP in the Toshakhana reference for making a “false statement” and an “incorrect declaration”. Mr Khan has already challenged the ruling in the Islamabad High Court. There’s no denying that Mr Khan had followed the law while acquiring these gifts for his personal use. But it isn’t good optics, and will show him in a bad light and hurt him politically too.

Naturally, Mr Khan and his party have rebutted the claims, saying the watch and the other gifts were neither sold to Mr Zahoor nor was Farah Gogi involved; they announced they would initiate legal action against Mr Zahoor in Dubai and against the channel and its anchorperson in London for airing the interview. They have the right to do so. However, Mr Khan must come clean on how the gifts were sold and to whom, how the money was transferred, and give a paper trail of the transaction. That is exactly what they are asking Mr Zahoor to do: provide evidence to back his allegations. At the same time, the government should substantiate its claims that the gifts were undervalued when sold to the former premier, as well as investigate the questions raised by the PTI regarding Mr Zahoor’s shady credentials, explaining how his name was removed from the no-fly list and he was allowed to leave the country a month ago. Mr Zahoor should also be asked to provide receipts of the transaction to support his claims. We need answers from all the parties involved since this controversy is proving to be embarrassing for Pakistan in diplomatic circles.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2022