Gifts for presidents, PMs since 1947: IHC seeks details from Cabinet Division

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday directed the Cabinet Division to submit the details of all the gifts which the presidents and the prime ministers have received since 1947.

The directives came from Justice Mian Gull Hassan Aurangzeb of the IHC while hearing a petition filed by Abu Zar Salman Niazi about the gifts received by presidents and the prime ministers.

The counsel for the petitioner argued that his client had asked for details of gifts received by presidents and prime ministers since 1947 but Cabinet Division is reluctant to furnish the details.

He said that the Cabinet Division is refusing to furnish the details under the pretext of being it classified which was in no way a justification.

Citing an order by Pakistan Information Commission (PIC), he said that the Cabinet Division is paying no heed to the order issued by PIC despite the passage of five months.

Justice Aurangzeb asked the counsel for the petitioner why his client did not ask for the details of the gifts received by public servants.

“Why are you limiting yourself to presidents and prime ministers? It shows your ambition (...) every petition which comes is all about the prime ministers,” he remarked.

A lawyer representing the federal government said that the records before 1990 – as per his view – might not be available and that such an information should be on the website.

After hearing both sides, the court issued a notice to the Cabinet Division to explain as to why decision of the PIC was not implemented and gave a month time to submit a report.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022