Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar has taken notice of an application filed by a university student regarding fees charged for applying for vacant government posts.

The application stated that such fees were a financial burden, which many individuals could not afford and had to forego applying for many positions.

According to a press statement issued by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday, the federal government has issued instructions to all ministries and divisions to make arrangements and ensure that 50 percent of the fee payable to testing agencies be paid by the all ministries, divisions and the authorities out of their own budget to save the unemployed citizens from financial burden. Further, while hiring services of a testing agency, Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Rules should be strictly observed to ensure minimum rates of fee through open bidding. The CJP has sought a follow up report as to implementation and outcome of the above directive from the Establishment Division secretary within two months. All provincial governments have also been directed to take required steps to provide maximum relief to the job aspirants, and to submit a detailed report within six weeks.

Access to information: The International Day of Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) was celebrated for the first time in Islamabad by UNESCO and its partner organisations on Thursday.

Speakers at the event – which was organised by UNESCO, the European Union and the embassies of Netherlands and Sweden – promoted the importance of the right to information as cornerstones of inclusive knowledge societies.

The celebrations aimed to raise awareness about the importance of universal access to information, and how the right to information could help attain the Sustainable Development Goals by enabling adequate monitoring and progress assessment.

A short timeline exhibition commemorated the Press Act of Sweden and showcased the ups and downs in the history of press freedom in Sweden. The display illustrated the struggle for press freedom and the right to information as continuous and never finished.

Speaking on the occasion, Swedish Ambassador Ingrid Johansson told the audience that Sweden was a pioneer in fostering freedoms, as it had the world’s oldest press freedom act dating back to 1766.

Commemorating 250 years of the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act, she said it was an integral part of the Swedish constitution.

UNESCO representative Vibeke Jensen said that Pakistan had come a long way. She congratulated Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on their right to information legislation, which were highly regarded for their quality of standards, and encouraged Balochistan to follow in their footsteps to adopt inclusive laws. “Information must be available to all. This is particularly important in Pakistan, home to rich diversity of cultures and minorities. Since the assembly approved the right to information bill and federal government processing the Right of Access to Information Bill 2017, are important steps in promoting transparent and accountable democracy,” she said.

Human Rights Secretary Rabiya Javeri Agha said at the event that the first generation of freedom of information laws failed to spearhead transparency and accountability in Pakistan and were limited in scope and cumbersome in procedure.

Published in Daily Times, September 30^th 2017.