Upholding the decision of the Pakistan Information Commission (PIC), the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday rejected the appeal of federal government for not releasing details of the expenses related to the use of PM’s helicopter to the citizen, reported 24 News HD TV Channel.

A citizen had moved the court seeking information on a government helicopter used to fly in the PTI’s prime ministerial candidates for Azad Kashmir for an interview with the party head and then premier Imran Khan.

The court remarked that if the helicopter was used to bring someone's family members or other than the defence purpose then it was its misuse. Upholding the decision of PIC, the court ordered the Federal government to share information with the applicant citizen as he wanted to know where the prime minister's helicopter was used.

Surprisingly, Deputy Attorney General Arshad Mahmood Kayani adopted the stance that the information couldn't be shared as it was related to the defence.

Chief Justice Athar Minallah said the information being sought was not related to the defense, adding that a citizen was asking for information related to use of public funds.

He remarked that the citizen had the right to know where his money was being spent under Article 19A of the Constitution.

The court observed that the applicant was not asking for information related to the defense forces instead he was asking details about the Prime Minister's Secretariat and this was an effective way of accountability of a public office.

The court said if the helicopter was misused, then those responsible were accountable to the public.

Chief Justice Athar Minallah said that the government should not bring such petitions before the court as it was accountable to the people. The case was subsequently dismissed.