Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Qamar Zaman Kaira, has categorically denied reports about secret fund and their misuse, urging the apex court to take action against those who are misguiding the court. Information minister, while talking to media outside the parliament said that the total budget of the ministry was Rs 5.58 billion of which Rs 3.4 billion goes to Radio Pakistan as it is not an earning organisation and only Rs 10.2 million goes to secret fund.
"He termed all the figures quoted by some sections of the press as inflated exaggerations". He said that the ministry only extends monetary assistance to the deserving journalists, their widows, and families who are in need. Those who have misled the court with the exaggerated figures and levelled allegations of bribery should be made accountable, he added. However, the secret fund's allocations were preset and secretary information was accountable for every penny spent, he maintained.
He said that raising fingers at the very existence of ministry of information is highly astonishing. Such motions do not make sense, he added. To a question Kaira said, Transparency International report in this regard was rubbish. "The secret fund issue was only being politicised in an organised manner," he said. "The ones who claim to have those secret recordings must also reveal which agency's payroll are they on", he maintained.