Daily Times

The citizens of Pakistan hold a unanimous grudge against the colonial era and reaffirm that the basis of independence from British rule was the injustice handed down by the colonial masters. Despite this, our bureaucracy, public institutions and the government are holding on to the same decadent colonial rules and regulations, with the objective of undermining and ruling over the masses rather than serving them. One example can be taken from the measures taken by officialdom for prevention of access to information by the common citizen. Since the adoption of the 18th Amendment in 2010 and the inclusion of Article 19-A in the constitution of Pakistan, freedom of information has been accepted as a fundamental right of the people of Pakistan. Unfortunately, the bylaws required to regulate the process have only been formed in Balochistan and Sindh, though they are replete with loopholes. The Right to Information Bill 2011 addressing the weaknesses in the Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 has also been tabled in the National Assembly and is pending further process.

Every citizen of Pakistan complains of irregularities and corruption within the system, which have lead to the present sorry state of affairs. Incumbent regimes are always accused of bad practices but there is no or little proof available. The common man, who suffers the most at the hands of the state apparatus, dare not approach public officials and question their motives. Development projects of benefit to the masses are abandoned without sufficient explanation or reason, and deals are struck on unfavourable terms by the state behind people’s backs. This is the main reason that democracy and democratic institutions have not been able to take hold in Pakistan. Before going into detailed discussion of this, I would like to emphasise the importance of the right to information for those that might be unaware of it.

The right to information changes all this, rather it challenges all the drawbacks within the system. People now have the right to ask for any information of public interest from state institutions and officials. It also makes it mandatory for public institutions to maintain proper records and publish certain important information for the convenience of people. Through exercising this right, citizens can have access to official records and can challenge any discrepancy. As a result, this will usher in an era of transparency and will promote a more open and interactive relationship between the public and government functionaries. It will also assist in doing away with the colonial era approach of subverting the people and keeping them in the dark regarding official business. Public monitoring of the allocation and utilisation of funds and resources will make the continuance of corrupt practices difficult. Citizens will finally have a say in the democratic process and will be able to contribute actively towards strengthening it.

Let us now move towards Punjab, where the government has been busy formulating procedural bylaws for the implementation of the right to information. Unlike Sindh and Balochistan, which have copied and implemented the Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 together with its loopholes, the Punjab government has made the effort to draft a more comprehensive law in consultation with various stakeholders including legal experts, provincial departments and civil society. This was a model and a benchmark upon which the law for the rest of the country could have been fashioned. In unfortunate and disturbing news, however, having scrutinised the impact of the proposed draft, the province has panicked and is looking to brush the entire matter under the carpet. It has been reported that the process of formulating the law, initially progressing at a steady pace, has now been slowed down. Alarms have sounded in the corridors of power over the proposed bill and, from their perspective, quite rightly so.

It is obvious that if this law is implemented, it will expose the activities of concerned officials. The workings of government departments, budget allocations, perks, benefits and salaries of functionaries would all become open to public debate. The suggested draft had been designed to provide information to the citizen at local level by each government department. Understandably, this was a threat to the conventional power structure, which is in place not only in Punjab, but also all over Pakistan. Officialdom opted to preserve its divine privileges instead of strengthening democratic institutions through accommodation of the public in the process. Certain quarters want to evade public monitoring and scrutiny while preserving their status and authority. The fear is that the implementation of the proposed law will put under check transgressions and misuse of authority.

It is evident that whenever an effort has been initiated towards right/access/freedom to information in Pakistan, it has faced considerable opposition from incumbent administrations. Public participation in the democratic process has been limited to elections, with no contribution in governance. In developed countries, this right has been extended not only to citizens, but in some cases even to non-citizens as far back as the eighteenth century. Pakistan, however, has been unable to realise the importance of the right to information even in the 21st century. Instead, an absence of will to implement the procedure and an insistence on preserving colonial regulations has exacerbated the situation. Although the democratic system provides people with the apparatus to hold public office holders accountable, it will take consistent public pressure from civil society and all other stakeholders to bring about proper implementation of the right to information.

The writer is a development consultant. She can be reached at coordinator@individualland.com