LHC dismisses plea seeking action against all lawmakers who hid Toshakhana gifts

The Lahore High Court’S (LHC) Justice Raheel Kamran dismissed a plea on Friday seeking directives for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to file criminal complaints against all those members of the national and provincial assemblies who did not disclose Toshakhana gifts in statement of assets and liabilities, instead of just former premier Imran Khan.

Petitioner Tanveer Sarwar requested the court to direct the chief election commissioner to remain impartial, fair and just as per the ECP’s constitutional mandate, and refrain from “selective prosecution at its own whims and wishes”.

He further prayed that the ECP, till the final decision of this case, be directed to initiate criminal prosecution against all members of the provincial and national assemblies who did not disclose the state gifts acquired by them in their statement of assets and liabilities.

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During Friday’s proceedings, petitioner’s counsel advocate Nadeem Sarwar implored the court that PTI’s founding chairman Imran Khan was sentenced to three years in prison on August 5, 2023 by a court in Islamabad, in the Toshakhana case, pertaining to the non-disclosure of the detail of state gifts in his assets and liabilities form.

He argued that the case was “eye opening, and the worst case of selective prosecution as the respondent ECP, while acting unfairly and discriminatorily, only singled out Imran Khan while ignoring and pardoning all other national as well as provincial assemblies’ members who retained gifts, but did not disclose them”.

“The act of the respondent ECP of not filing complaints… falls afoul of Article 25 of the Constitution of Islamic republic of Pakistan, 1973, which commands that all persons are equal before law and required to be treated alike in all the situations,” Sarwar stated.

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The counsel maintained that big political leaders like former president Asif Zardari, ex-prime ministers Yousaf Raza Gillani, Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and ministers Khawaja Asif among others also did not disclose the details of their Toshkhana gifts, but were free from any liability or criminal prosecution “because the respondent ECP on its own whims and wishes did not want to proceed against them”.

“That non-filling of complaints against other members clearly depicts that the respondent ECP is partial, biased and failed to perform its duties under the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” he further maintained.

The counsel argued that it was good practice to hold politicians accountable for their wrongdoing, but the accountability must not be limited to a single person alone. “Each and every person should be held accountable in the widest national and public interest,” he stated. The lawyer argued the ECP’s action was not only against the law, but was tantamount to misconduct.