Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa lag behind in legislation on freedom of information laws
By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed
The right to access to information is a fundamental human right all over the world and a pre-requisite for transparent, accountable and democratic governance. Article 19-A of the Constitution of Pakistan awards this right to all citizens of the country and calls for purposeful legislation on this issue.
The Freedom of Information (FoI) laws introduced so far in the country appear to be mere eyewash with little applicability. This is due to various reasons, but primarily because of the state’s reluctance to take people on board in official matters. The state – undoubtedly the biggest repository of information – is seen throughout the country’s history enacting laws relating to secrecy, confidentiality and restrictions on access to information on myriad grounds.
Against this backdrop, the introduction of FoI laws at the federal government level by the previous government was a welcome step. Though not a perfect code to follow, it broke the inertia and set the wheel rolling. At least there was something on which improvements could be made according to the international practices.
The provincial governments of Sindh and Balochistan followed suit and came up with provincial FoI laws while similar actions are still awaited by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
“While the federal government is expected shortly to table a new FoI bill in the National Assembly, after repealing the existing one, the time is ripe for the remaining two provinces, especially Punjab, to legislate on this issue,” says Zahid Abdullah, Programme Manager, Transparency and Right to Information Programme, at Islamabad-based Center for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) while talking to TNS.
“Being the largest province with over 100 million population, it’s imperative that Punjab grants legal rights to people to access information available with its department without any further delay,” he adds.
The laws of Sindh and Balochistan are exact replicas of the federal law which was passed hurriedly to meet a conditionality imposed by the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB’s) Access to Justice Programme (AJP). So the flaws inherent in the federal law are also there in the provincial laws.
Abdullah informs TNS that the Punjab government has committed to enact a law on right to information and has a draft ready with it. “The CPDI has held several interactions with its representatives and made several suggestions/recommendations regarding the draft. It’s the right time to move it from the office desk to the floor of the house.”
Citing some proposals, he says they have recommended change of title from “The Punjab Freedom of Information Act 2010” to “Punjab Right to Information Act 2010,” inclusion of reference to Article 19-A of the Constitution in the preamble, grant of right to information to every citizen of Pakistan instead of those from Punjab only, expansion of scope by making NGOs – funded directly or indirectly by government funds – accountable, access to information available in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video-tapes or any other electronic form and so on.
Zahid Abdullah adds they have also recommended minimal exemptions as the Article 19-A reads: “Every citizen shall have the right to information on all matters of public importance subject to regulations and reasonable restrictions imposed by law.” If any restrictions are imposed these must pass the test of being reasonable, he says. “Withholding information like minutes of meetings, summaries, records of deliberations of the cabinet etc is not at all justified as the draft suggests.”
The draft also provides for formation of an information commission to be appointed jointly by the Punjab CM and the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly. Under the given formula, three former senior government servants and two from amongst retired judges of the high court or equivalent authority shall be selected as members of the commission.
The thought behind former civil servants’ inclusion is that they are familiar with the working of the government and bureaucratic procedures. The draft also requires the government to appoint as many officers as Public Information Officers in all its administrative units or offices under it as may be necessary, who will be responsible for providing information to requesters.
Ali Hadi Advocate, a Lahore-based corporate affairs and constitutional consultant, tells TNS that a major problem with our FoI laws is that they define a procedure but do not ensure accessibility to information. In other words, he says, the implementation of information laws is quite weak.
Referring to the proposed Punjab government law, he says it must be ensured that the information requests should be entertained within the prescribed time-frame.
Ali says the Punjab government must also ensure that the certified information awarded under the law is undisputed. “If it’s disputed, like what happens in the case of revenue records, the person making use of this information may have to face defamation suit. If any functionary of the state gives away wrong information, he shall be awarded heavy punishment.”
Information provided by the Punjab government says that a committee was formed by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif On September 24, 2009, to look into the prospects of drafting ‘a progressive law on freedom of information’ for the province.
The committee consisted of Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Rana Sanaullah, Minister for Finance Tanvir Ashraf Kaira, Minister for Excise and Taxation Mian Mujtaba Shauja-ur-Rehman, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid, additional chief secretary, secretary information and secretary law.
The committee worked on the project and drafted the Punjab Freedom of Information Bill by August, 2010. It shared a copy with CPDI and sought its comments which were provided in September 2010.
Sanaullah tells TNS that the Punjab government is waiting for the federal government to table its Freedom of Information Bill first. “Once it is there, we will be in a position to come up with ours. We want to follow the spirit of the federal law.”
Source: The News
Date:2/13/2011
