Using legal cover, the foreign affairs ministry has refused to share details of expenditures incurred on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s foreign trips.
In its written reply to a question by Islamabad-based lawyer Malik Salim Iqbal, the ministry cited section 8 of the Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 and said information regarding money spent under different budgetary heads on the premier’s 10 foreign trips – from the date he assumed office to March 31 – cannot be shared due to secrecy.
Section 8 allows the federal government to exclude any record from the purview of the Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 if it feels it is in the ‘public interest’ to do so.
“This raises serious questions about transparency. What is the point of this law if even the cost of air tickets for the prime minister and his entourage are considered national security secrets?” Iqbal asked while talking to the media.
