September 09: In a Briefing Session organized by PILDAT for the benefit of Members of the Parliament on Right to Information (RTI) Legislation in Pakistan, it was observed that the Federal Government of Pakistan has failed to honor repeated promises for early passage of the internationally acclaimed Right to Information Bill. The Session, which was held at the Nazara Hall, Serena Hotel, Islamabad, on September 09, 2015, was addressed by the Honourable Senator Farhatullah Babar, Member, Senate Standing Committee on Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage, and Mr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ali, Information Commissioner, Punjab Information Commission (PIC), who was the Keynote Speaker.

Mr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ali informed the audience that the origins of the prevalent culture of government secrecy could be found in the colonial period and that this culture had unfortunately persisted even after the Independence of Pakistan. He was of view that official information should no longer be provided on a need-to-know basis as the right to access this information can now be extended to all citizens in an effective and cost-efficient manner given recent advances in information technology.

While discussing areas in which the Federal Right to Information Bill that is currently under consideration by the Cabinet could be improved, Mr. Mukhtar urged the Federal Government to address the Bill’s weaknesses before tabling it in the Parliament. He also urged inclusion of the President House under the ambit of the draft RTI law. His recommendations also highlighted punishments for RTI-related offences, and provisions relating to the powers, composition and grounds for appointment and removal of Information Commissioners to an independent statutory body to be established under the Bill for overseeing the implementation of RTI and for the hearing of RTI-related complaints, which would be referred to as Pakistan Information Commission. He also added that the authority to notify rules under the Bill must not rest solely with the Federal Government, rather such notifications should be issued by the Government on the advice of the Information Commission.

Honourable Senator Farhatullah Babar spoke of the many hurdles that the Senate Standing Committee on Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage had to overcome during the drafting of the Federal Right to Information Bill – including receiving a letter from the Ministry of Defence urging the Standing Committee to discontinue drafting the law until a No-Objection Certificate from the Ministry had been obtained. He added that, despite these hurdles, the draft RTI law had been finalised by the Senate Standing Committee over 15 months ago, in consultation with members of the civil society. However, despite repeated assurances for the RTI Bill’s early passage as an Official Government Bill by the Honourable Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage, the Bill had not been discussed in 14 consecutive meetings of the Cabinet. According to the Honourable Senator, these continuous delays suggested that the Federal Government of Pakistan was either not committed to early passage of the law, or that it was not fully in charge of the portfolio of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage. If such delaying tactics continued, the Honourable Senator urged concerned Members of the Parliament and civil society to pressurise the Federal Government to fulfill its promises by either presenting the matter before Courts, or appealing directly to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif.

The Session was opened by Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President, PILDAT, who welcomed the audience and appreciated the interest they had shown in the future of the Right to Information law in Pakistan. He also called for early passage of the progressive RTI Bill under consideration at the Centre, which could potentially become the best RTI law in the world if passed in its current form. In the absence of a strong RTI law at the Centre, President PILDAT also appreciated the precedent set by the Provincial Governments of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and the Punjab in passing modern RTI legislation.

In addition to members of civil society and the media, the Session was attended by the Honourable Senator, Advocate Muhammad Daud Khan Achakzai, (ANP, Balochistan) Chairperson, Senate Standing Committee on Communication, Honourable Senator Baz Muhammad Khan, (ANP, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Chairperson, Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, Honourable Senator Nisar Muhammad (PML-N, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Member, Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, Honourable Senator, Dr. Ashok Kumar (NP, Balochistan) Member, Senate Standing Committee on Information, Broadcasting & National Heritage, and the Honourable Senator Sajjad Hussain Turi (IND, FATA) Chairperson, Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services Regulation and Coordination.

Also in attendance at the Session were: Honourable Ms. AasiyaNasir, MNA (NA-341, Non Muslim–IX, Balochistna, JUI-F), Honourable Mrs. Mussarat Ahmad Zeb, MNA (NA-323, Women, KP, IND), Honourable Mr. Malik Aamir Dogar, MNA (NA-149, Multan-II, Punjab, PTI), Honourable Mr. Siraj Muhammad Khan, MNA (NA-06, Nowshera-II, KP, PTI), Honourable Mr. Ali Muhammad Khan, MNA (NA-10, Mardan-II, KP, PTI), Honourable Mr. Shehryar Afridi, MNA (NA-14, Kohat, KP, PTI), Honourable Mr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, MNA (NA-342, Non Muslim-X, PML-N), Honourable Ms. Sajida Begum, MNA (NA-324, Women, KP IV, PTI), and Honourable Ms. Naeema Kishwar Khan, MNA (NA-327, Women, KP,JUI-F). 

The Briefing Session on Right to Information Legislation in Pakistan was organized by PILDAT under the More effective Right-To-Information (RTI) at Federal and Provincial level (Sindh and Punjab) Project, for which it has received financial support from Development Alternative Inc. (DAI) under the Enhanced Democratic Accountability and Civic Engagement (EDACE) Project.