The son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Suleman Shehbaz poked fun at PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi after criticizing former finance minister Miftah Ismail.
Suleman’s jab at the former premier came after the federal government made the Toshakhana records public, which showed that Abbasi made a fortune by keeping Toshakhana gifts valued at more than Rs233 million while serving as prime minister for less than a year.
Taking to Twitter, the PM’s son referred to an initiative named “Reimagining Pakistan” by Abbasi and Miftah. “Reimagining Toshakhana gifts,” Suleman Shehbaz wrote.
Responding to Suleman’s tweet on Geo News’ programme “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath”, Abbasi said that he didn’t mind it and that he is with the party, not any individual (Suleman).
Read Pakistan declassifies Toshakhana gifts record: check lists
Explaining the legal requirement for retaining a gift, Abbasi said he paid more tax on the gifts retained from Toshakhana than the price he paid. He said the government can probe if any illegality is suspected in retaining the gifts.
The record further shows that other members of the current cabinet including Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Syed Naveed Qamar, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, and Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao have also retained expensive gifts from paying minimal or no costs at all.
According to the records, Abbasi (prime minister from 2017 to 2018) kept more than 50 gifts worth a combined total of more than Rs233 million for himself, his wife, and three sons in less than a year.
While gifts worth thousands of dollars were typically accepted for free, the expensive gifts were kept for 20 or even less of their assessed value. Abbasi received more than six special edition watch sets with a combined value of about Rs90 million when he was elected prime minister in 2017.
In addition to these, the then-prime minister’s spouse kept a set of jewelry worth Rs100 million that included a necklace, a pair of earrings, a bracelet, and a ring.
Similarly, his sons kept luxury watch sets worth millions of rupees from Hublot, Harry Winston, and Rolex. His sons also stole mobile phones. The then-prime minister kept these gifts by paying 20% of their assessed value.
