Toshakhana: Zardari receives gifts worth $1.5m

ISLAMABAD :Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), has taken the top spot by receiving gifts worth $1.5 million, according to details released from the Toshakhana records.

The former Prime Minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, would have topped the list if he had completed his tenure, as he received an average of $0.9 million annually from Toshakhana.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ranks second on the list with $0.72 million, while the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo received gifts worth $0.52 million from Toshakhana.

Additionally, former PM Shaukat Aziz received Toshakhana gifts worth $0.38 million, and PM Shehbaz Sharif’s annual average of gifts received amounts to $7600.

The federal government recently declassified the Toshakhana records, making the 466-page data from 2002 to 2023 available on the Cabinet Division’s website.

Various individuals, including former presidents, prime ministers, ministers, and government officials, have acquired gifts from Toshakhana.

The published Toshakhana records include the names of Pervez Musharraf, Shaukat Aziz, Yousaf Raza Gillani, Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan, Arif Alvi, and Shehbaz Sharif.

Toshakhana, established in 1974, is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division. It serves as a repository for valuable gifts presented to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, and officials by foreign heads of state, governments, and dignitaries.

The Toshakhana controversy gained media attention when the former Prime Minister and Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) faced allegations of concealing details about the gifts he received during his tenure in government.