The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered the federal government to furnish a Toshakhana record older than 2002.

The court heard a plea seeking the record of Toshakhana [a state treasury where state gifts are kept] from the creation of Pakistan to date. Secretary to the federal cabinet furnished the record.

Additional Attorney General (AAG) apprised the court that the cabinet had declassified the record and it would be uploaded on the website as the federal government had not shared the record on state gifts with him.

As the AAG presented the court order directing the government to declassify the record, the appellant argued that the government should furnish a complete record instead. Justice Asim Hafiz remarked that it took time to do things as the government had decided to put the record online this year.

Justice Asim Hafiz inquired whether the government had a record older than 2002 to which the AAG replied that the older record had not been put online. The court ordered the government to furnish the record at the next hearing scheduled on March 13. 

Earlier, the federal government had submitted details of Toshakhana gifts to the LHC which a senior official termed “classified”.

The government had primarily expressed averseness to submit the Toshakhana details, explaining that the revelation may “cause damage to the interests of Pakistan’s international relations”.