Filing requests for information under these laws is not only a legal and constitutional privilege, but should also be taken as an obligation, stated a press release issued by the CGPA on Saturday to commemorate International Right to Know Day.

The day is marked on September 28 around the world. The handout stated the right to know is incomplete without the right to information. Therefore, the centre urged advocates of the law to promote its implementation on Right to Know Day.

CGPA Executive Director Muhammad Anwar said there has been remarkable progress in ensuring citizens’ right to information in Pakistan over the last year.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Punjab introduced excellent legislation in the form of the K-P RTI Act 2013 and the Punjab Transparency and RTI Act 2013.

These laws will allow the public to ensure there is transparency in public service delivery if they are implemented in their true spirit, said the statement. On International Right to Know Day, the CGPA urged the K-P and Punjab governments to notify rules under their respective laws, said Anwar.

The executive director said the Punjab and K-P RTI laws must not be restricted to the provinces and any citizen should be able to access information without providing a reason.

However, he stated that Sindh and Balochistan were yet to introduce such strong legislation. Anwar said the Federal Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 needed to be replaced with the Right to Information law as per Article 19-A of the Constitution of Pakistan.

The CGPA also demanded the K-P government extend the law to the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata).

Similarly, he added there should also be a Right to Information regulation for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). The CGPA urged the media and civil society groups to play their role in raising awareness and use the law for investigative reporting.

Express Tribune

The Punjab Freedom of Information Act is a good example, as it is a very confused act.

This Act is drafted by bureaucracy without consulting stakeholders, while media and civil society representatives are available for technical guidance.

In this Act, it seems many sections are not allowing freedom for information for the sake of national interest and privacy interest.

The Act is without clarification regarding implementation mechanisms, feedback and complaints management system. The Act is basically hiding information and protecting bureaucratic matters.

RANA TASSAWAR ALI
Islamabad

DAWN

The media that is so central to the dissemination of information has reason to be not very pleased with the exemptions and qualifications the authors of the draft find so necessary. The discussion in the media has narrowed in on the qualifications the draft seeks to incorporate, with the term “national interests” once again generating apprehensions. And if the national interest doctrine is not a sufficient deterrent that can be invoked to deny access, there is an attempt at the outset to empower certain ministries to refuse information. One exemplary exemption that reflects the protective thinking of the framers of the law is where the meeting records of the cabinet, the Council of Common Interests and National Economic Council and their committees “that have a bearing on national security” can be kept secret from the people.

In a country so used to dealing with the people’s affairs preferably without their knowledge, the making of a right to information law leaves many in the government and assemblies uneasy. It would perhaps be too harsh to say the draft bill aims to take away more than it gives. But if it is progress, it is progress that does not conform to the common-sense standards and needs of today.

DAWN

Speaking at a mobilisation camp here, civil society activists and others said the passage of the RTI ordinance in the KP province was going to be a game changer in the country. It is ‘something new and positive’ in Pakistan after decades, they added.They said people needed access to information for making their voices heard and resolving their problems.

“We hope the Punjab government will enact the RTI law soon. But we want that the whistleblowers in the government offices should be protected under the law. There should also be rigorous punishment for all those officials who will not respond to the public complaints or provide the citizens with misleading information,” said an official of the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) that had organised the camp.

Mehr Nasim, a university student, observed that the RTI law would not only empower people but would also help bridge the gap between the citizens and the state. “We, the taxpayers, want to know where exactly our money is being utilised and how? We have waited for decades to get our voices heard and make those at the helm of affairs accountable to the people,” added Zakiya Minhas, an engineering student.

Fareeda Khan, a high court lawyer, said more than 80 per cent pending litigations in courts were related to land disputes mainly because it took years to get the revenue record from the patwaris. She added that the RTI law would make it easy for the people to get the needed information and record within a few days.

The participants said after the passage of the RTI law, it would be the duty of every person to make awareness among people about how to get access to the public information so that maximum number of citizens can get advantage of the law.

The advocates of RTI law on the occasion also asked the federal government to come up with a similar law so that people can ask about the transparency in multi-billion projects, purchase of government machinery or even the travel log of politicians and bureaucrats.

“Let us enter into a new era and claim our rights. After the KP government, other provinces should also formulate similar laws to facilitate the citizens to get access to information,” said Dr Kanwal Khawar, one of the speakers.

DAWN