Federal Register issues details of Gen Faiz's gifts in American 'Toshakhana'  

Federal Register on Friday issued details of the American 'Toshakhana' including the details of General Faiz Hameed's gifts given to the US Chief of Staff in 2021.

Like Pakistan, there is also a 'Toshakhan' in the United  States and the Office of the Chief of Protocol is responsible to maintain the record of it.

Details of the gifts were published Friday on the US Federal Register website, showing which countries gave which gifts to US officials during 2021 and how much they were worth.

On Friday, US Federal Register issued a comprehensive listing of all gift appraisal and donor information of the Office of the Chief of Protocol.

According to American records, former ISI chief General Faiz Hameed gave gifts to the American Chief of Staff, but the most expensive gifts were received by the US from the war-torn country, Afghanistan.

Former ISI chief General Retired Faiz Hameed presented a carpet, a pashmina scarf and a brass vase valued at $715 to US Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley on July 30, 2021. Faiz Hameed was the head of Pakistan's secret agency ISI at that time.

According to this list, surprisingly, the most expensive gift to US President Joe Biden was given by the former First Lady of Afghanistan and the wife of former President Ashraf Ghani who presented a silk carpet worth $19,200 to her American counterpart as a gift.

However, this gift was not kept by Jill Biden herself, but it was transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also gave another silk carpet to President Biden as a gift, but its value was a little less than his wife's gift, that is, $9,600.

Another interesting gift from Afghanistan itself was given by former Army Director Regional Targeting Team Ahmed Sheikh Soltani to American Staff Sergeant Christopher Giving in the form of three Kalashnikovs worth $2230.

In 2021, Indian Chief of Defense Staff Rawat gave Mark Milley a statue, a shawl, a tie and other gifts worth $470.

Another expensive gift Russian President Vladimir Putin gave to former President Trump was worth $12,000 and included a Laker desk and writing equipment.

According to the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act of 1966, gifts received by US officials can be kept by them provided their value does not exceed $415. However, the President is authorized to keep those gifts which have come from local citizens.

The White House also has a 'Gifts Unit' which takes care of these gifts and arranges for their delivery to the relevant institutions.