LAHORE: Seeking further arguments, a full bench of the Lahore High Court postponed until November 21 the proceedings on the Punjab government’s appeal challenging the single bench order of making public the report of Justice Ali Baqar Najfi into the 2014 Model Town tragedy. Barrister Ali Zafar, counsel for the victims’ heirs, advanced arguments and said that the report was prepared by a judicial tribunal constituted by the government itself under the Pakistan Commissions of Enquiry Act and it accordingly was a public document as defined in Section 85 of the Qanoon-e-Shahadat Order, 1984. Relying on various judgements he said that the government, which was the custodian of this report, was required to provide certified “true copies” of any such documents. He said that the Model Town massacre was recognised as ‘state terrorism’ and witnessed by the entire country where unarmed men and women were killed and tortured in broad daylight by the Punjab Police. He said that the government could not deny people the right to know the facts and who was responsible for such a horrific massacre. “If this is kept secret from the people, this will amount to constitutional violation, while the entire purpose for appointing the commission will be negated.” He said that the LHC judges had the privilege of ensuring that this fundamental right to information was received by the people, and it had the authority to do so under Article 199 of the constitution. Barrister Ali said that under Article 19A of the constitution, it was the fundamental right of every citizen of Pakistan to have access to and receive information on all matters of public importance and this right was to be read with the right of “freedom of speech” under Article 19. Referring to an apex court verdict, he submitted that freedom of information was basically a right of the people of Pakistan to know the truth and was based on the wisdom of Hazrat Isa (PBUH) who said that “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” He said that it was unfortunate facet of Pakistan’s history that since independence the people of the country had been disserved and information critical to them had been withheld from them. He said that time and again the governments had spent millions of rupees on inquiries, but the citizens of Pakistan – although being direct affectees – had remained clueless and uninformed. He pointed out from various judgements that the results of various probes like the Model Town massacre had been invariably withheld from the people of Pakistan or selectively disclosed, which resulted in distorted history of the country. Barrister Ali said that Article 19A had changed the fate of the people and now they had a right to demand and the government had an obligation to give information to them. He also pointed out that this freedom of information was the very foundation of democracy and only through this accountability of the government and transparency in their working could be achieved and corruption eradicated. He requested the court to ensure that the people’s basic right to information was protected. Then the bench consisting of Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh, Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmad postponed the hearing. Published in Daily Times, November 17th 2017.