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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif constituted a committee on Saturday to develop and propose a new Toshakhana strategy.

Secretariat Cabinet Ahmed Nawaz Sukhera stated this in a tweet along with a Cabinet Division statement dated June 24.

"It"s (the committee) been given one month to accomplish the assignment, with instructions that it should be more open, fair, have proper scope for declassification, and be in line with international best practises," Sukhera added in the tweet.

Prime Minister has formed a committee to formulate & propose a new Toshakhana Policy. It’s been given one month to complete the task, with directions that it should be more open, transparent, having appropriate provision for declassification, & in line with int’l best practices. pic.twitter.com/oaY1jzQ4Kg

— Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera (@ansukhera) July 2, 2022

According to the notice, the committee"s Terms of Reference (ToRs) are as follows:

The committee will review/revise the "Procedure for the Acquisition and Disposal of Gifts, 2018" comprehensively and prepare a new draught.

The proposal should be more open and transparent, with adequate de-classification provisions.

The new Toshakhana Process should be based on transparency standards and worldwide best practises.

Within one month, the committee will present its report to the prime minister.

The Cabinet Department will provide the committee with secretariat support.

The committee has 12 members, including the Convener, the Minister for Defence, and the Secretary to the Committee, who is the Additional Secretary of the Cabinet Division.

Other members include Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Syed Tariq Fatemi, the Ministers of Commerce and Law and Justice, the Secretaries of the Cabinet Division and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Financial management, Law and Justice, and Information and Broadcasting, Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed, and Aftab Sultan, the former Director General of the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

The Toshakhana issue made news last year after the PIC approved an application and mandated the Cabinet Division to furnish information about gifts received by then-prime minister Imran Khan from foreign dignitaries.

However, the Cabinet Division filed an IHC challenge to the PIC order, arguing that it was "illegal." The then-government argued that disclosing any information on Toshakhana would jeopardise Pakistan"s international ties.