-IHC questions government over not disclosing gifts received by Premier
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday directed the authorities concerned to remove all the legal and procedural obstacles in the way of Gilgit-Baltistan’s development projects.
A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said that the premier chaired a meeting to review the progress of the integrated development plan for G-B.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers Muhammad Hammad Azhar, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, Syed Amin-ul-Haque, Dr Muhammad Farogh Naseem, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill, and GB Chief Minister Khalid Khursheed, along with relevant senior officials.
“We are focused on accelerating the pace of work on various development projects in Gilgit-Baltistan by taking effective measures to ensure delegation of administrative and financial powers,” said PM Imran Khan during his address to the meeting.
The statement said that the authorities were directed to “clear all legal and procedural hiccups in this regard to facilitate the people of Gilgit-Baltistan who have to travel long distances to reach Islamabad for getting their issues resolved”.
PM Imran Khan also ordered the provision of internet connectivity to the area at the earliest to cater better communication facilities to the local population.
Earlier, the prime minister was briefed about the progress of the implementation of the historic five-year development package for G-B, announced by his government early this year.
Per the statement, Rs370 billion would be released to G-B for various development projects till the fiscal year 2025-26 under the package.Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday asked why the federal government was ashamed to disclose the gifts given to Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying that gifts given to rulers belong to the public of that country.
According to details, during the hearing of the Toshakhana reference on Wednesday, the federal government sought time from the high court to decide whether or not to disclose the gifts given to the premier by other countries. Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb remarked that the government may avoid disclosing any defence gift, but why was the same principle being applied to every gift. “If some country has given a necklace as a gift, what is the harm in making it public?” he asked.
The judge also asked why the government was ashamed of disclosing the details of gifts received from other countries. Justice Aurangzeb maintained that gifts given to rulers belong to the people of the country and not the rulers. He questioned whether these public office holders would have been given the same gifts were it not for their official position.
He further asked why the gifts given to the premier are not kept in a museum and highlighted that this is the norm in other countries. The justice further urged the government to disclose the details of all gifts received during the last 10 years.
