Spokesperson claims Toshakhana necklace "still in Bushra Bibi's possession"

A spokesperson for Bushra Bibi, the wife of former prime minister Imran Khan, has made a shocking claim about the state gifts for which the ex-PM has been jailed for past few months.

Mashal Yusufzai told a private TV channel that Khan and his family still have the possession of a necklace taken from Toshakhana -- a governmental department where state gifts are kept -- and its original value is close to Rs10 million.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife have been sentenced to 14 years in prison in a case relating to the illegal sale of state gifts. Khan has been accused of retaining expensive state gifts when he was the prime minister.

Yusufzai further rejected the claims that the necklace's worth is Rs30 million. "Those poor souls do not know that the necklace is still in our possession."

She said that they wanted to present the necklace in court as evidence.

"When the necklace was received as a gift, it was brought by the military secretary to Bani Gala (the personal residence of Imran Khan). But, Khan told him to deposit the necklace in Toshakhana. Later on, it was collected from Toshakhana after its price was assessed and paid off," she claimed.

The Toshakhana case against Imran Khan was filed on September 5, 2022, and the court sentenced Imran Khan and his wife to 14 years in prison on January 31, 2024.

On April 1, the Islamabad High Court had suspended the sentence of Imran Khan and his wife in the Toshakhana case and ordered their release on bail.