The secret fund allocated for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is used for national security and to dig out information related to the national interest, said Zulfiqar Malooka, the counsel representing the ministry.
Talking to media persons at the Supreme Court, he categorically rejected the notion that the fund was used to bribe journalists and said that the ministry had filed all documentary evidence with the said court.
He said the misuse of Rs four billion was alleged without going through the budget details of the ministry concerned.
He said the ministry would refute the allegations through the audit reports of the ministry and its departments and other relevant documentary evidence already submitted before the two-member bench.
He said the petitioners have also challenged the legal status of the information ministry, adding the government would also challenge this stance in the regular hearing of the case scheduled to start on September 27.