Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday ordered the Cabinet Division to provide details of gifts received by the presidents and the prime ministers of Pakistan since 1947. The direction came during a hearing as Justice Mian Gull Hassan Aurangzeb heard the petition filed by Abu Zar Salman Niazi. The outset of the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel said his client had asked for the details of the gifts received by the presidents and prime ministers since 1947, but the Cabinet Division refused to provide the information on the plea that it was classified.

He further stated that the Pakistan Information Commission (PIC) gave an order on June 29, but it had not been implemented despite the passage of five months. Justice Aurangzeb inquired why the rest of the public servants were not included in it. “Why are you limiting yourself to the presidents and prime ministers? This shows your ambition… every petition that comes is related to the prime minister”.

The deputy attorney general told the court that in his opinion, the records before 1990 would not be available and that such an information should be on the website. The court finally issued a notice to the Cabinet Division to not implement the decision of the Pakistan Information Commission and sought a report within a month.