Right to Information Law: ‘Other provinces should follow Punjab, K-P’

Demands public awareness campaign, other provinces to follow.

The fact that Right to Information (RTI) laws are in place in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) should be welcomed and replicated in the rest of the country. This was stated by Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) Secretary General Abrar Hafeez in a press release issued on Friday. 

Although it took the government longer than it should have, the enactment of RTI laws is commendable, the release stated. CRCP, along with its partner organisations, has been working for the enactment of RTI laws since 1998, the statement read. Hafeez said “Access to information in all matters of public importance will ensure accountability and transparency in public departments”.

He said RTI legislations enacted across Pakistan have some inherent deficiencies, barring those of K-P and Punjab.

The recent developments in K-P and Punjab have set a pace for enacting comprehensive and effective RTI laws in rest of the country, the release stated. “CRCP sincerely hopes that in light of Punjab and K-P’s RTI laws, the obsolete legislations in Balochistan, Sindh and Islamabad would also be revised to accommodate the best practices with regards to rights to information” said Hafeez.

He further said there is a need for public monitoring of government bodies and spending but that has to be preceded by public awareness efforts to educate people about RTI.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9^th, 2013.