Former Prime Minister of Pakistan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan announced on Wednesday that he will take legal action against Geo News, a Pakistani news channel, its anchor Shahzaib Khanzada and Dubai-based businessman Umar Farooq Zahoor for creating baseless allegations against him for selling an expensive wristwatch that he bought from Toshakhana.
The news comes a day after businessman Umar Farooq Zahoor alleged that Farah Khan, a close friend of Bushra Bibi, Khan’s wife, met with him in Dubai and offered to sell him the pricey Graff wristwatch that Imran Khan had received as a gift from the Saudi Crown Prince. “Enough is enough. Yesterday Geo and Khanzada supported by Handlers slandered me through a baseless story cooked up by a known fraudster and internationally wanted criminal,” Khan tweeted.
Following the charges, the former prime minister added that he had spoken to attorneys and intended to file lawsuits against Geo, Shahzaib Khanzada, and the fraudster not only in Pakistan but also in the UK and the United Arab Emirates.
On Tuesday, Zahoor asserted that Farah Khan had visited him in Dubai and had been immediately intrigued by the expensive watches since they were “unique and irreplaceable.”
Zahoor informed the media, “[She] told me the history of the watch and said that they were gifted to Imran Khan by the Saudi prince. She said she wanted to sell these on Imran and his wife’s behalf.”
“They [the PTI] wanted to sell the watch for USD 4 to USD 5 million, but after negotiations, I purchased it for USD 2 million,” Zahoor said, adding that the payments were made in cash on Farah Khan’s insistence.
After the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified the leader of the PTI for making “false statements and erroneous declarations,” the Toshakhana controversy surrounding the sale of state goods that Imran Khan had received became a significant thorn in the side of national politics.
“In March 2019, former accountability minister Shahzad Akbar said that he had a set of watches and if I was interested, I should reach out to Farah [Khan] (a close aide of Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi) as she needed help and didn’t have any asset buyer,” Zahoor said.