They were participating in a conference on the “People’s Right to Information” organised by the Centre for Peace and Development Initiative (CPDI) to mark the 12th International Right to Know Day which is observed on September 28 every year.
Speakers urged the Punjab government to release funds for the Punjab Information Commission on an urgent basis so it can implement the RTI law in the province.
Friedrich Naumann Foundation Country Representative Dr Almut Besold, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Information Commissioner Sahibzada Muhammad Khalid, Punjab Information Commissioner Mukhtar Ahmed Ali and former interior secretary Tasneem Noorani, among several NGO representatives and journalists, participated in the discussion.
Stressing on the importance of RTI laws, Besold said people should make their governments accountable and also emphasised on raising awareness about the law in Pakistan.
Centre for Governance and Public Accountability Executive Director Muhammad Anwar suggested that the K-P Information Commission should be financially autonomous.
Mehmood said the freedom to seek information is the basic right of every individual, adding that Scandinavian countries are the least corrupt in the world due to strict implementation of strong RTI laws. He further said that around 122 single complaints and 18 collective complaints have been received by the K-P commission since December 2013, out of which 75 have been resolved.
Ali said no budget has been allocated for the establishment of the Punjab Information Commission and informed that commissioners are working from their homes. He also shared that of a total of 400 complaints received by the commission since June this year, 130 have been resolved.
Condemning the lack of interest of the media in RTI laws, senior journalist Mazhar Abbas said media persons give least importance to people’s right to information. He said the media is commercialised now but journalists could still use RTI laws for better investigative reporting.
Centre for Civic Education’s chief Zafarullah Khan emphasised that RTI laws should also be made available in the national language for better understanding by the larger public.
Workshop on RTI law
A one-day workshop on Punjab and K-P’s RTI laws was conducted by the Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment (DTCE) under its project titled “Citizens’ Engagement and Accountability for an Effective Local Government System”.
Speaking on the occasion, DTCE chief Azhar Bashir Malik said all stakeholders should come forward and play their role to educate the public about their rights. He added that over 90 countries have enacted the RTI laws and it is widely regarded as a fundamental human right.
Participants included former local government representatives, lawyers and civil society members.
Participants demanded that RTI acts be implemented in all the provinces, including the federal capital.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2014.
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