Details of the Toshakhana gifts that all PMs received have been requested in an LHC plea
The petitioner claims that the cabinet’s only misdeed was to reveal the former prime minister Imran’s overseas gifts.
LAHORE: On Saturday, a writ petition asking for information about foreign gifts kept by dignitaries, bureaucrats, and other officials—including all prime ministers and presidents from Toshakhana—was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) (gift depository).
The petitioner asked the court to order the parties in question to make public all information regarding the gifts, including the process used to estimate their market value and the amount of money placed into the treasury.
Munir Ahmed, the petitioner, submitted the application through prominent attorney Azhar Siddique.
In the suit, attorney Siddique pleaded with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to order the federal cabinet to reveal all details and specifications pertaining to all the gifts Imran Khan received while serving as prime minister.
Following this directive, the petitioner requested information regarding all gifts purchased, revoked, or taken away by Pakistan’s presidents and prime ministers since 1947. In addition, the petitioner had a right to information on the evaluated worth of the gift, the market value of the gift (which was standard at the time), and the amount paid by recipients (presidents and prime ministers) of the gifts from 1947 to the present.
According to the petitioner’s attorney, this procedure will guarantee that the public has full access to all of Toshakhana’s records, promoting fairness, accountability, and openness.
It is established law that Pakistan’s citizens are now more powerful thanks to Article 19 (A) of the Constitution, which “makes access to information a justiciable right of the people rather than being generously conferred by the State at its whim.”
“Article 19(A) of the Constitution has so made it possible for every citizen to become their own autonomous power centres, which up until now have been in charge of information on issues of public interest. The petition said that “the general public shall have access to all information that may be of any public value.
The petitioner continued by saying that as this is a topic of major public interest, it is essential for the sake of justice and the principle of fairness that information and detail about all the gifts that former presidents and prime ministers have received be made public.
“The citizens of this country possess an inherent fundamental right to be privy to the entire record of Toshakhana as this will prevent anyone from misusing the privileges granted by Toshakhana, and safeguard the natural interests of the State by ensuring accountability in case of any mischief,” the petition read.
The attorney informed the court that the Cabinet Division has disclosed information regarding the Toshakhana gifts that former Prime Minister Imran Khan received. However, the Cabinet Division has never revealed any information about previous president Asif Ali Zardari, Yousaf Raza Gillani, or prime minister Nawaz Sharif, “which is solely an act of malafide.”
