A 79 years old man from Karachi, who has been trying for the last two and a half years to collect information about the perks and privileges enjoyed by Prime Minister Imran Khan from 2013 to 2018 as leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, has finally moved the Sindh High Court (SHC) to get the required information.
Petitioner Sher Muhammad Chishti told the court through his lawyer that he had been writing to the National Assembly speaker since October 2, 2018 to provide him the information about the perks and privileges enjoyed by the past rulers.
He said this information was available, but he was not being provided details of the perks and privileges Prime Minister Imran Khan availed from 2013 to 2018. He said he wanted to know how many sessions of the National Assembly took place from 2013 to 2018, how many sessions were attended by Imran Khan, how much salary and perks and privileges he received and how much amount he received in the name of allowances.
The petitioner says he needs this information from month to month. He says that he has been writing letters to the National Assembly speaker and the chief information officer since 2018 to get this information, but in vain. He said that he was entitled to getting this information under the Freedom of Information Ordinance, but the government institutions responsible for providing this information did not provide him the required information.
The petitioner asked the court to get him Rs500,000 compensation because a lot of his time was wasted in the process. In response, the court said that he should have filed a damages suit for this purpose. On this, the petitioner realised his technical mistake and withdrew his complaint.