Right to information: Law to override all secrets, says Babar

Speakers discussed RTI pro’s and con’s at UNDP-funded seminar.

ISLAMABAD:

The culture of secrecy and lack of awareness about freedom of information are some of the biggest hurdles facing effective implementation of Right to Information (RTI) laws in the provinces and centre.

Speakers expressed these thoughts at a stakeholders’ consultation titled “Operationalisation of Article 19-A (Right to Information): prospects and puzzles,” organised by the Centre for Civic Education and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under its Strengthening Participatory Federalism and Decentralisation Project on Thursday.



Under the article, citizens have the right to access information.

Senator Farhatullah Babar, who is heading the sub-committee of Senate on Information and Broadcasting, said, the operationalisation of RTI is a “long drawn” process that cannot be expected to be completed in a short duration.

However, Babar said the “culture of secrecy” in government institutions is a major hindrance to access of information. He said it was a cultural issue that might remain even when laws are put in place and needs to be tackled by raising social awareness.

Babar also mentioned that the Right to Information Bill 2013 has been moved in the Senate.

“The proposed law will override secrecy laws, there won’t be holy cows under the umbrella of exemptions and classification of information as secret will be democratised”, he said, explaining that the main features of the proposed law include minimum exemptions and maximum disclosure.



UNDP Country Director Marc-Andre Franche said the operationalisation of RTI has remained a “pending” issue since the 18th Amendment was put in effect.

Franche said the RTI has proved to be the key to good governance the world over and is “essential for strengthening democratic institutions in Pakistan.”

Participants dissected the various RTI ordinances promulgated or being considered by the four provinces. They criticised the vague definitions of “classified” information that are being exempted from disclosure in most provincial drafts or approved laws because unclear definitions give government institutions an excuse to restrict access to public documents.

During the second session, Dr Tauseef Ahmad Khan, the chairman of the department of media at Federal Urdu University Karachi, said a lot is said about the technicalities of the RTI laws but ordinary citizens and journalists should also be made aware about how to use the right for public benefit.

Press Council of Pakistan Chairman Raja Shafqat Abbasi said the draft laws are a good start, but more work is needed to remove lacunas from legislations about RTI.

Participants also called for an independent mechanism to go over RTI denial complaints instead of the federal ombudsman’s office which is overburdened with routine work.

In the concluding session, Secretary Law and Justice Zafarullah Khan promised to vet the federal law on an urgent basis soon after the passage of the legislation and pledged to frame its operational rules on an immediate basis.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2013.