The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday ordered the government to make the whole record of Toshakhana public from 1990 to 2001.
The high court said nothing could be kept secret from the public’s eye, and ordered the authorities to make all the records public. The court instructed, “share the name of the friendly country that gifted the items.”
The federal government expressed opposition to disclosing the origin of a gift and declared it would appeal the decision. Judge Asim Hafeez responded that you have the right to contest this.
No one could keep the present without paying, the order also stated.
The high court’s orders followed a citizen’s plea, filed by Munir Hafeez, who asked for full disclosure of all gifts given to political leaders and bureaucrats by foreign dignitaries since Pakistan’s founding.
The Toshakhana records from 2002 onward were made public earlier this month by the federal government, which exposed the political elite who benefited from the depository.
The administration had argued that making all the documents public might damage Pakistan’s relations with allies. However, the court disregarded this argument and ordered that the records be made public.
The Toshakhana record previous to 2002 must be presented in any format that is accessible, the court ruled last week. It also stated that it will issue the proper instructions after evaluating the record.
