Cabinet okays declassification of Toshakhana records

ISLAMABAD: In a major development, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led federal government has approved making details of Toshakhana gifts, received over the past two decades, public, ARY News reported on Thursday.

The announcement was made by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on his official Twitter handle.

“The cabinet has allowed the declassification of Toshakhana records. It would soon be posted on website of the cabinet division,” the minister wrote in a tweet.

کابینہ نے توشہ خانہ کا ریکارڈ ریلیز (declassify)کرنے کی اجازت دے دی یہ ریکارڈ انشاءاللہ بہت جلد کابینہ ڈویژن کی ویب سائٹ پہ پوسٹ کر دیا جائے گا۔

— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) March 9, 2023

As per the country’s law, any gift received from dignitaries of a foreign state must be put in the state depository or the Toshakhana.

Established in 1974, the Toshakhana is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division and stores precious gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, and officials by heads of other governments and states and foreign dignitaries.

READ: ASIF ALI ZARDARI GETS RELIEF IN TOSHAKHANA REFERENCE

The Toshakhana controversy caught media attention after former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was accused of hiding details of the gifts he received during his tenure in the government.

Last year in June, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had constituted a ministerial committee to redesign the Toshakhana policy.

The committee was comprised of ministers of defence, law and commerce. The committee also included secretaries of finance, information and foreign affairs. The committee finalised recommendations within a month and submitted a report to the prime minister.