PM office directed to public details about expenses of PM House within 7 working days
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Information Commission (PIC) has directed the Prime Minister office to public the details about expenses of the Prime Minister House, including the amount spent on its repair and maintenance, within 7 working days.
The Commission in its final verdict after failure of the Prime Minister office to comply with its directions to share the details sought by a citizen, Taimoor Khan, a resident of Islamabad.
The PIC also directed the Prime Minister office to share the details of utilization of discretionary funds by current Prime Minister Imran Khan and former prime ministers Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif in their tenures.
In its final verdict, the Commission directed the public information officer of the Prime Minister Office to share the details about the budget of Prime Minister House, including the details of employees, kitchen expenses, furniture expenditure, gifts, repair and maintenance related expenses, and details of expenses spent on entertainment and bakery items of the PM House.
It is to mention here that Taimor Khan has sought information from the Prime Minister Office about expenses spent on renovation of the Prime Minister House since 2013, along with the details of the furniture and electronics items purchased for the PM House.
The copy of the order available with The Reporters states as, “The Prime Minister Secretariat has been given reasonable time and opporctunity to decide on the request for information of the citizen through duly served notices of the commission but the public body has failed to submit its response.”
Three-page verdict, authored by Commissioner Zahid Abdullah, further states that this commission believes that the disclosure of information will serve public interest. For example, the disclosure of requested information will shed light on whether or not the incumbent Prime Minister and his predecessors have been utilising discretionary funds.
Similarly, through the disclosure of information, citizens would be able to know how their taxes have been put to use for the renovation of the PM House, the order states.
The appellant Taimoor Khan said that, on March 4 this month, the Prime Minister Office was directed to share the requested information within 7 working days, but so far, he did not receive the requested information from the public body.
