ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday slammed his predecessor Imran Khan, saying that he had “defamed Pakistan” a day after Khan was disqualified from holding public officeby Pakistan's top election body in a case registered against him for failing to declare assets he earned from the sale of state gifts.  

Khan was accused of misusing his position to purchase and sell gifts received during state visits abroad that were worth over $635,497 (140 million rupees). 

A five-member election tribunal of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced the verdict in the Toshakhana case on Friday against Khan under Article 63(1) P, ruling that the former premier was found “guilty of corrupt practices.” 

Khan rejected the verdict, accusing the ECP of being biased towards him. He vowed to continue his struggle against the Sharif-led coalition government. 

In a press conference on Saturday, Sharif accused Khan of flouting the rules by selling the state gifts he received first and then depositing a nominal value for them with the treasury. He said that as per law, the value of a state gift is first ascertained before after which the person who wishes to retain it has to pay the nominal amount on it.  

“This is a very serious issue,” Sharif said, speaking to reporters. “Pakistan has been defamed. Will you ever find an example worse than this, that a prime minister—violating the rules without estimating their [state gifts] worth—sells them in the market, pockets the money and afterwards, deposits 20% of their value,” he asked. 

Sharif accused Khan of not disclosing the full details of his assets to the ECP, saying that it was binding for any person contesting elections to do so. “When the State Bank of Pakistan pressed him, [Khan] intentionally provided a false bank account,” he alleged.  

Doubling down on his criticism of Khan, the prime minister said the nation would have saluted the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman if he had deposited the proceeds from the sale of the gifts with the treasury. 

“I would’ve [saluted you too] despite being your political opponent,” he added.  

He blamed Khan for levelling false accusations against opponents while being a “certified thief” himself.  

“The person who levelled allegations [of corruption] for the past six years, day and night, has been found to be a certified thief himself,” he said.