Pakistan

Gilani returns Turkish first lady’s necklace

The necklace was donated to the government of Pakistan in 2010 by the wife of Prime Minister Recep Tayyep Erdogan

Our Correspondent June 27, 2015

PHOTO: EXPRESS

ISLAMABAD:

Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has finally returned the necklace donated by the first lady of Turkey for victims of the 2010 floods to the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra).

According to Nadra officials, the necklace was delivered to the authority by one of Gilani’s personal secretaries on Friday.

Read: Necklace donated by Turkish PM’s wife for flood victims goes missing

The necklace was donated to the government of Pakistan in 2010 by the wife of Prime Minister Recep Tayyep Erdogan who is currently Turkey’s president for the families stricken by the floods in that year. Rather than being openly auctioned, the necklace was sold by the Pakistan Peoples Party-government to Nadra for Rs1.5 million.

Read: Turkish First Lady visits PRCS headquarters

According to officials, the necklace wound up in Gilani’s possession after he was ousted from premiership in the wake of a Supreme Court verdict against him. “Gilani’s family, when he was shown the door by the Supreme Court in 2012, took the necklace with them,” an official said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2015.

COMMENTS (38)

Saeed | 9 years ago | Reply For PEERs everything is Hilal... If someone dares to ask Gilani's mureed, is it correct what their Peer Sb. did, I'm pretty sure 90% of them will give some rationale that it was not an immoral act....rationale may sound like, "he is a SYED and the whole word is created for them what's bad if they have taken one necklace".

Azam Khan | 9 years ago | Reply @Prada: The Muslim women of the undivided Indian sub-continent had donated their jewellery to the Turks in their times of need. The Turks want to return the favor. There is no cure for ignorance Parda.

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

Dr. Nasir ALI Bhatti | 9 years ago | Reply And he was Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.ENOUGH IS SAID IN DISGRACE OF THIS MAN by the commentators. His wife was well known for her filthy deeds to exploit the position of her husband

Sandip | 9 years ago | Reply @straightshooter: Absolutely. It's only the ones that came under the malicious influence of such people next door who have picked up this scourge of a habit. Else this was the exact habit that we thought we had banished from India after 1947-48.

Concerned Citizen | 9 years ago | Reply Didn't he state on an interview on the international media while referring to Pakistani's: "they can leave the country if they want." Well Mr. Ex-PM the people of Pakistan now want you and your legal heirs out of Pakistan!!!!

Ih | 9 years ago | Reply Honour and thieves cannot co exist. I still cannot get over this.

Ishrat salim | 9 years ago | Reply Had it not been for the hulla bulla by the media, mr gillani would have kept silent. Crook to the core, all of them, well, why not, when his boss can be a crook so was he. Gillani sb. Please ask forgivness from Allah swt, your son kiddnapped and yet you had no conscience to return this necklace ? You and your family, from your wife to your sons, were involved in so many corruption, yet you have not asked forgivness from Allah swt. If you want your son return safe and sound, ask forgivness from Allah swt for the sins you and your family were involved in, and may Allah swt forgive you and your son may return safe nad sound, rest upto you....this is my sincere advice. You have surely dissappointed your many poor followers, you have made fool of them, you have taken money from them on one pretext or another, this is no Islam, Islam does not teach such piri and mureedi., release those poor unfortunate slaves, give back their land, please., i beg you in the name of humanity and Allah...seek Allah's forgivness, please.

Azi | 9 years ago | Reply Look at the face of this thief who was our prime minister. What respect would we have by now in eyes of turks, just because of this single guy that tells citizens to leave Pakistan if they don't like how he was running the show.

Jamal | 9 years ago | Reply Do these politicians have any shame? How big is their appetite? Sad thing is that he will still be elected in next election.

Hassan | 9 years ago | Reply After reading much more about the necklace it seems former premier Yusuf Raza Gillani is a jewel thief and a very fine movie can be produced on this topic. Because mr Gillani is so innocent that he was unable to return the necklace to Turkish first lady due to one reason or the other it is a very small example of ppp's honest prime minister and many to be unfold sooner or later.

lkhan | 9 years ago | Reply @GHAZAL: beg to differ, you missed out one word. Pakistani politician to the core... our people, those who live all over the country are not like the Gilanis' and these heartless, corrupt, gangster, political families.

Shocked | 9 years ago | Reply people like Gilani should be thrown into shark infested waters

Ch Allah Daad | 9 years ago | Reply @Prada: Perhaps you don't know friendship history of Turks and Indian Subcontinent. During first world war, when Ottoman empire was at the verge of defeat, Indians including Muslims (and many Hindus too) donated thousands of expensive jewellery to help Turks. Their gesture of donating jewellery became a cultural tradition for Turks, therefore since that time Turk leaders respond in similar fashion. It shows their love for people of Subcontinent and their gesture should be seen in historical context but unfortunately like you, corrupt and stupid Gillani had no sense of history and stole a historical event.

Kamil | 9 years ago | Reply @Raja Porus: it's not voluntary returning of the stolen piece. The zardari party thief only returned it when threatened with law proceedings by the state.

Kamil | 9 years ago | Reply Why is this thief not taken to jail yet?? The wife of great sacred general musharaf is also reported to have taken home precious jewelry gifted to government of Pakistan from Saudi Arabia but since generals are sacred nothing can be done about it. Oh by the way why the media doesn't make question the blocking of roads around the NRO general musharraf's home in Karachi ?

MASOOM | 9 years ago | Reply I think Turkish PM was mureed of this so called peer Gilani who has given donation to his PEER Just another peer in same city collects donation annually from his poor mureeds!

straightshooter | 9 years ago | Reply @GHAZAL: Not every Indian is a gang-rapist, despite compelling evidence. Similarly, not every Pakistani is a crook.

Raja Porus | 9 years ago | Reply Disgraceful - 100% Shameless - 99% (1% marks given as rebate for returning the stolen necklace)

shahid | 9 years ago | Reply @ziaurrehman: they are all shameless people with zero integrity

shahid | 9 years ago | Reply facepalm!

F Khan | 9 years ago | Reply Why do you think PPP is in shambles?It is because of the people like gilani, and raja, and rehman malik and the great mr.10%.

A-No.1 | 9 years ago | Reply The necklace should be purchased by some clean Pakistani and displayed all over the country in a travelling show to highlight the greed of these corrupt leaders.

shahid | 9 years ago | Reply Check again the necklace, by now this super honest thief may may echanged the diamonds with Zircons.. He is quite capable of stealing anything as he has a crooked mind. Being PM of Pakistan is one of his qualifications and certification that he is crooked and corrupt.. Look at NS today. Corrupt to the core;

Adnan Siddiqi | 9 years ago | Reply Gilani's disposition in this matter is a classic example of 100 onions and 100 littars.

Rizwan | 9 years ago | Reply Just imagine he is our former PM the nation can even trust him with one neck less.He is a total disgrace and shame for Pakistan

Maqsood | 9 years ago | Reply Stupid as he was... disgrace on planet earth for Pakistan.

Disgusting | 9 years ago | Reply Did anyone check if the jewels are same? Yousaf Raza is a convict therefore this should be confirmed.

Kickass | 9 years ago | Reply @Prada: Just shut up. We have a Jeepster named like yours.What does your mythology say about that? Like Modi you all have a habit of asking to be fingured.

Zafar Khan | 9 years ago | Reply Should such people be allowed to represent Pakistan or be given examplary punishment?

ziaurrehman | 9 years ago | Reply It must be very hard to be a supporter of ppp....

the Skunk | 9 years ago | Reply Brazen crook! Why has the case come up now and not earlier? Because, his master Zardari allows his buddies to get rich by thieving and covers it up. Corruption and nepotism is so ubiquitous and bottomless that even the establishment has got a headache and looks HELPLESS. Salams

wonderer | 9 years ago | Reply The necklace should now be auctioned and the proceeds distributed among the families stricken by the 2010 floods. And those responsible for not doing so as far back as 2010 must now be suitably punished to set an example for future.

Sadia | 9 years ago | Reply Govt still needs to verify if the returned necklace is the same stolen by Gilani.

Bharat | 9 years ago | Reply This is what happens to the donated articles of Biradar Mulks to Pakistan...... This one case could be caught as it came to limelight early.

GHAZAL | 9 years ago | Reply Pakistani to the core

Ali | 9 years ago | Reply This man is a disgrace to the whole nation.

Prada | 9 years ago | Reply Why would anybody donate a necklace? It is like a theme in a Hindi movie in the seventies. The actor Ajit might well be Gilani.

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