PAC Orders Retrieval of all Toshakhana Records from 1947

In a meeting chaired by chairman Junaid Akbar Khan, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament scrutinized the illegal amendments made to the Toshakhana rules and reviewed the audit report related to the management of gifts received by government officials. The session revealed significant irregularities in the handling of Toshakhana records and raised questions about the transparency of the system. The Cabinet had initially approved the Toshakhana rules in 1993, but subsequent amendments were made without Cabinet approval in 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2017, and 2018. The rules were allegedly softened for the Prime Minister, violating the original framework. Initially, gifts could be retained by officials by paying 30 percent of their value, but this was later increased to 50 percent. A new proposal now suggests allowing officials to retain gifts by paying 100 percent of their value. The Toshakhana Act 2024 has been enacted, and the rules are expected to be approved by the Cabinet soon. The Secretary of the Cabinet clarified that only the Cabinet has the authority to amend the Toshakhana rules. Committee member Tariq Fazal questioned whether any study had been conducted on how other countries handle gifts received by officials. The Cabinet Secretary responded that countries like the United States have specific limits and strict rules regarding the acceptance of gifts. Audit officials revealed that records from 1990 to 2002 are missing, raising concerns about accountability. The Cabinet Secretary stated that all records from 2002 onwards are available on the Cabinet’s website, with older records archived. However, retrieving archived data may take time. Committee members, including Senator Afnanullah, demanded that all records since 1947 be uploaded to the website for transparency. Members expressed disappointment over the state of the National Archives, with Senator Shibli Faraz noting that no one is conducting research there. The Cabinet Secretary acknowledged past issues but assured that significant improvements have been made, including the use of modern scanning techniques to organize records. Chairman PAC Junaid Akbar Khan ordered the retrieval of all Toshakhana records from 1947 to present for a comprehensive review.