PAC examines audit objection to verification of Toshakhana’s gifts

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Wednesday sought details of all auctions of Toshakhana gifts, as well as Toshakhana’s records from 1947 to the present.

The PAC reviewed the audit objection regarding the verification of originality of gifts of the Toshakhana. The PAC meeting, chaired by its Chairman Junaid Akbar Khan, was attended by PAC members and the cabinet secretary, in which the audit paragraph regarding the illegal amendments in the rules of Toshakhana was reviewed. The cabinet secretary told the committee that the gifts are kept in the Toshakhana without verifying if they are original or not, as no secretary has ever given a certificate of their originality to-date. Similarly, the gifts cannot be exchanged by anyone and their value is determined by the FBR. Committee member Khawaja Shiraz asked what is being done for the certification of gifts in the upcoming rules. PAC Chairman Junaid Akbar sought the records of Toshakhana since 1947. The Audit officials pointed out to the committee that in 1956, when then-prime minister of Pakistan visited China, the members of the delegation were given some very expensive gifts by the Chinese government. However, they deposited imitations bought from Hong Kong in Toshakhana and retained the original ones. The Auditor General informed the PAC that the then-prime minister wrote a note that the delegates who went with him did this. Audit officials say that the records of the Toshakhana from 1990 to 2002 were requested from the Cabinet Division, to which the Secretary Cabinet said that all the records from December 2002 onwards have been provided. Committee member Senator Shibli Faraz said that the Cabinet Division has done nothing to preserve the old records. In response, the Secretary Cabinet Division said that we have taken new steps to preserve the records. Khawaja Shiraz said that the Cabinet Division has declared the 2002 record as classified at which the Secretary Cabinet Division said that he will declassify the record. Secretary Cabinet Division said the audit authorities were made to inspect the gifts of Toshakhana, and attempts were made to hire experts from the private sector to estimate the value, but they were unsuccessful.

Secretary Cabinet Division told the committee that the entire Toshakhana record is available on the cabinet website and all records from 2002 until now have been uploaded with details. “The data before 2002 must be in the archive, which may take time,” he told the committee. The PAC chairman asked for the records of Toshakhana from 1947 to the present. Afnanullah suggested uploading the entire data on the website. Later, the PAC sent the audit para to the Departmental Accounts Committee.

The audit objection regarding the auction of Toshakhana gifts was also reviewed. The audit officials said that according to the procedure, auctions were required once or twice a year, but the Toshakhana administration failed to conduct them. The Toshakhana administration also failed to provide proof of the notification of the auction. The Secretary Cabinet said that earlier there was no public auction of gifts. Later, the committee asked for details of all the auctions.

The special audit report of Toshakhana was also reviewed and the audit officials revealed that amendments were made to the Toshakhana rules from 2001 to 2018 without the approval of the cabinet, rules were relaxed for the prime minister in violation of the rules, amendments were made to the Toshakhana rules in 2001, 2004 and 2006, 2007, 2011, 2017 and 2018. He also clarified that no one can make the Toshakhana rules except the cabinet.

The PAC chairman asked why the laws were amended repeatedly. “Now the Toshakhana Act 2024 has been formulated and the rules will be approved by the cabinet soon,” he told the committee.

The audit is of the view that amendments and replacement of the Toshakhana rules with the procedures and relaxation of the rules, were irregular and unauthorized. The auditors recommended an inquiry into the affair and fixing responsibility.