Fact-check: Is Imran Khan's Toshakhana-Related case now closed by the government?

ByGeo Fact-Check Updated Wednesday, January 4, 2023 Multiple Twitter posts falsely claim that the government has withdrawn a petition filed against former prime minister Imran Khan for purchasing gifts from the state gift depository, known as the Toshakhana. There are four cases related to the Toshakhana scandal in four different courts, but none have been filed by the current government.

Claim: On December 27, a user made the following claim on Twitter: "its application against Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case has been withdrawn" by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N).

The user went on to say that this was done in response to an order from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) requiring the government to make public records of the gifts that were given to all of the country's prime ministers and presidents.

At the time of writing, the tweet has received 21,000 views and has been liked more than 200 times.

Another user on Twitter wrote: The imported government withdrew the Toshakhana case against Imran Khan out of fear of being exposed when the Islamabad High Court ordered the record of all Toshakhana gifts from 1947.

Fact: There are currently four cases involving the Toshakhana scandal in four different courts, but neither the current government has filed any of them nor has it withdrawn any of them.

The first case, which concerned the state gift depository, was brought against journalist Rana Abrar and the Pakistan Information Commission (PIC) in September 2021 by the then-government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The PTI wanted the PIC's order to make public the specifics of gifts Imran Khan received between 2018 and 2021 to be declared illegal.

The proceedings in this case are still ongoing, and the hearing on February 6 is the next one.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) brought the second case against Imran Khan in November in a district and sessions court in Islamabad.

The Commission has pleaded with the courts to proceed against Khan in the petition for engaging in dishonest behavior and for not disclosing the gifts he purchased from the Toshakhana.

The following date of hearing is on January 9.

A lawyer filed a third case in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in December, asking the court to direct the government to provide details about all of the state gifts that presidents and prime ministers received after 1947.

This case's next hearing date has not yet been set.

Similar to the IHC case, a fourth Toshkhana-related case is pending in the Lahore High Court (LHC).

A lawyer also requested a record of all state gifts received by presidents and prime ministers after 1947 in this petition.

The hearing will take place on January 16th.