LHC bench headed by Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan orders federal govt to submit Toshakhana records from 1947 to 2001 in one week
LAHORE, April 10 (SABAH): The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday directed the federal government to submit the records of Toshakhana from 1947 to 2001 in a week.
The directive came during the hearing of government’s intra-court appeal challenging the LHC’s single bench order to release the state gift depository’s records from 1990 to 2001.
Taking up the plea, a two-member bench, comprising Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan and Justice Muhammad Raza Qureshi asked the AAG Mirza Nasar about the grounds for the government’s plea.
At this, the lawyer informed the court that the bench had ordered to make the names of individuals who gave the gifts public.
“The government itself released the Toshakhana records from 2002 and onwards,” he said.
He, however, said that the names of those who gave the gifts weren’t made public to avoid destroying foreign relations.
The AAG further stated that the government had uploaded all the details on the official website but wanted relief to the extent of revealing the names.
At this, Justice Qureshi asked whether those people were declaring what they had been gifted or not.
“We are also bound to declare it if anyone gives us a gift,” Justice Bilal remarked.
At this, the AAG maintained that if anyone is representing a state then he is supposed to declare the gift. He said that the government wasn’t trying to hide the records but the records before 2002 are not computerised and verified.
Later, the court sought records from 1947 to 2001, while issuing notice to the petitioner of the initial case seeking the Toshakhana records, for next Monday.
Earlier on the government challenged on Monday the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) decision regarding the “disclosure of the sources of the providers of gifts from 1990 till 2023” and making public the Toshakhana record from 1990 to 2001, requesting the decision be set aside to this extent.
The government, through its Cabinet Division secretary, challenged the LHC single bench’s decision, handed down by Justice Asim Hafeez on March 22, 2023.
Justice Asim, in paragraph 13 of his judgment, had directed the government to disclose the sources and identities of the providers of gifts from 1990 till March 13, 2023. Within seven days of the receipt of a certified copy of this order, he directed that the record of Toshakhana from 1990 to 2001 be made public.
Justice Asim had handed this decision on a plea filed by a citizen, Munir Ahmed, through advocate Azhar Siddique. The petitioner sought details of dignitaries, bureaucracy and officials who had obtained gifts from Toshakhana since 1947.
The government contended that during the pendency of Ahmed’s petition, the cabinet decided to declassify the record, and details of Toshakhana between 2002 to 2023 were made public, except the source of the gifts.
It added that the sources of the gifts were kept secret and classified as in the view and judgment of the government, sharing these details would have an adverse effect on Pakistan’s international relations.
The petitioner government requested the court to set aside the LHC judge’s ruling to the extent of disclosure of source and donors of the gifts and his direction to disclose the Toshakhana record from 1990 to 2001.
The government submitted that Justice Asim, while directing that the sources and identities of the donors and providers of the gifts be disclosed, failed to take into consideration Section 16(1)(a)(ii).
According to the said section, information is exempt from disclosure if it affects the international relations of the country. Based on the government’s judgment, disclosure of information regarding the sources of the gifts may give rise to unnecessary speculations and rumours involving foreign states, their heads of state and officials.
The government added that disclosing the information may also cause embarrassment to Pakistan as well as foreign states. “It is an established principle of law that the courts should defer to the judgment of the government on issues of foreign relations,” read the petition.
The government said that the cabinet in its wisdom kept in mind Pakistan’s international relations and thus, decided against the disclosure of the sources of the gifts, adding that the single judge “illegally” ordered the disclosure, “ignoring” the government’s decision.
Referring to the record from 1990 to 2001, the government said that it is not complete and thus, cannot be verified or authenticated. “No supporting files, record or evidence of this period is available,” it said, adding that the government is “not in a position to reveal or disclose records which it cannot authenticate”.
Further, it argued that in terms of Article 19 A read with the Act, citizens have the right to information but it must be “authenticated, true and verified information coming from the government” and not unverified information, the veracity of which can not be authenticated.
“The single bench judge illegally ordered the disclosure of this unverified and unauthenticated information,” the government implored in its petition.