Islamabad: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday reviewed audit objections that involve the management of the Toshakhana Cabinet Division, the state’s gift repository, highlighting inappropriate amendments to its rules and the disappearance of records that date before 1997.
The committee, chaired by Syed Naveed’s audit officials, was said that the original 1973 Toshakhana rules had been modified in violation of the appropriate procedures. The general auditor’s office had previously opposed the repeated changes.
The secretary of the Cabinet Division, Kamran Ali Afzal, explained that a new Toshakhana law was promulgated in 2024, which requires that all gifts, except those of historical or cultural importance, must be auctioned.
“The law does not prohibit accepting gifts, but requires its provision through an auction,” he said.
Weight amendments of inappropriate rules, defective auctions and missing records
Mr. Afzal added that a proposal for new amendments under which dignitaries could not accept gifts from foreign counterparts has been submitted.
However, Mr. Qamar, the interim president, said that a complete prohibition was not practical. The Committee decided to postpone the audit objection until new amendments are made and the rules are written for clarity.
The PAC also approached the lack of availability of Toshakhana Records. The secretary of the Cabinet division revealed that all records were missing before 1997.
“As the secretary’s cabinet is also worrying for me that before 1997, records cannot be tracked,” Affzal told the meeting. He confirmed that the 1997 records onwards have been provided to the audit authorities and efforts were being made to trace previous files through the national archives.
The general auditor confirmed that the records after 1997 were available. The Committee ordered the division to present a final report on missing files within 30 days.
In addition, the committee opposed the irregular auctions of Toshakhana’s articles.
He noticed the government’s failure to maintain public auctions at least twice a year, instead of carrying out closed auctions for the federal government and the organizations of the Armed Forces.
The authorities also noticed that these auctions were carried out without the appropriate evaluations and that auctions have not occurred since 2018.
The meeting was chaired by Mr. Qamar after the regular president, Junaid Akbar, refused to preside over the session, saying that he would not lead the procedures for the day.
Postponed PCB audit review
Meanwhile, the PAC postponed a review of the audit objections related to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) due to the absence of President Moshin Naqvi.
PCB officials informed the Committee that the PCB Chief, who is also Minister of the Interior, was at a meeting with a visiting Belarusa delegation. The committee postponed the exam until its presence could be guaranteed.
Posted in Dawn, August 28, 2025
