Rawalpindi:
In a significant development in the case of Toshakhana-2 that involves a set of Bulgari jewels allegedly retained by the founder of PTI Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, two key witnesses have testified that the appraiser was pressed to undervalue the ornaments.
The case focuses on an expensive jewelry set: a necklace, earrings, bracelets and rings, equipped by the Saudi Royal Family to the former prime minister. According to the researchers, the set was evaluated at an artificially low price, allowing Khan and his wife to buy it at a fraction of its real value, which caused a considerable loss for the national treasure.
The last revelations occurred three days after a special central judge concluded the interrogation of the two witnesses, the appraiser Sohaib Abbasi and the former personal secretary of Imran Khan, Inamullah Shah.
The procedures, held within the Adial prison, extended more than six hours.
Abbasi told the Court that the Cabinet division assigned the responsibility of assessing the Bulgari established on May 25, 2022.
He said Shah later visited him and transmitted that the defendant wanted to retain the set, instructing him to fix the valuation in no more than RS5 million. According to Abbasi, Shah warned that the refusal would result in his blacklist from government departments.
Under pressure, he said, the set undervalued and presented a false evaluation report.
Abbasi admitted during the testimony that joined the investigation on May 23, 2024, and sought forgiveness for his role in undervaluation.
Shah, in his own testimony, confirmed Abbasi’s account. He told the court: “I asked Sohaib Abbasi to do an undervalued evaluation of the set, and he agreed.”
He added that he remained in Abbasi’s office for 30 to 45 minutes during the process.
Shah also revealed that he had been drawing double salaries while serving both the PTI and the government. He explained that from 2019 to 2021, he held the position of Comptroller in the House of the Prime Minister and at the same time received a salary from the Central Secretariat of PTI.
He was finally withdrawn from his official post, not due to dual wages, but for the disapproval of Bushra Bibi. According to him, she suspected that Shah’s brother had close links with separate PTI leader Jahangir Tareen.
The case has seen multiple legal turns. In July 2023, an Islamabad court prevented the National Office of Responsibility (NAB) from pursuing Toshakhana’s reference against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, transferring the matter to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Now it is before a special central judge, who also has the task of deciding the bail requests of Khan and his wife.
