On May 05, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved its decision on a petition by the National Assembly Secretariat against a directive from the Pakistan Information Commission. The directive demanded the disclosure of details pertaining to the parliamentary standing committees. The case was presided over by Justice Muhammad Azam Khan.
During the proceedings, Advocate Hafiz Arafat, representing the National Assembly Secretariat, argued that details about the sessions or the standing committees couldn’t be provided. He supported his claim by referencing a ruling made by the Speaker, which asserts that information from any session’s proceedings cannot be disclosed.
This stance was challenged by Advocate Qasim Bhatti, representing petitioner Sadia Mazhar, who highlighted a timing issue in the Speaker’s ruling, which was issued significantly after the filing of their case i.e. six to eight months after their case was filed. He argued that the Speaker lacks the authority under the Act to issue a ruling.
The contention also arose over the method of the information request, which was done via email. The counsel for the National Assembly Secretariat pointed out that information requested via email can’t be responded to unless the identity of the requester is disclosed. The counsel added that the petitioner did not appear before the Pakistan Information Commission.
With both sides’ arguments presented, the court reserved the verdict.
