LAHORE: The federal government has filed an intra-court appeal challenging recent verdict by the Lahore High Court (LHC), which ordered the government to make public the record of Toshakhana gifts from 1990 to 2001 and the names of gift givers from 1990 to March 23, 2023.
وفاقی حکومت نے توشہ خانہ تحائف دینے والے ممالک کا ریکارڈ پبلک کرنے سے انکار کر دیا اور لاہور ہائیکورٹ کے سنگل بنچ کے خلاف اپیل دائرکر دی۔
حکومت کا اپیل میں ایک موقف یہ بھی ہے کہ"ریکارڈ پبلک کرنا پاکستان کے ساتھ ساتھ بیرونی ریاستوں کےلیےبھی شرمندگی کا باعث بن سکتا ہے"#ToshaKhana pic.twitter.com/T2GA6TS5Z0— Rana Bilal (@ranabilal666) April 10, 2023
The Lahore High Court on March 22 had ordered the government to make public the Toshakhana gifts received by public office holders from foreign governments and dignitaries between 1990 and 2001, as well as from 2002 to 2023 in another case. The government had made the 466-page record of Toshakhana from 2002 to 2023 public by uploading it on the official website of the Cabinet Division following the court’s directive.
Also read: LHC orders to make Toshakhana 1990-2001 record public
In its intra-court appeal filed today, the government argued that there are no certified records from 1990 to 2001, and therefore, the records cannot be verified or made public. It has also expressed concerns that making the names of gift givers public will affect foreign policy and is not in accordance with legal requirements.
A two-member bench of the LHC will hear the appeal, and the additional attorney general will appear in court on behalf of the federal government. The government has pleaded that the decision of the single bench to make public the names of gift givers should be nullified.
