Daily Times

Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Uzma Bukhari on Tuesday submitted an adjournment motion in the Punjab Assembly, calling for a discussion on the performance of Punjab Information Commission (PIC) and implementation of ‘The Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013’.

The adjournment motion presented in the Provincial Assembly stated that according to the report of Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO), the response rate of the government departments to the right to information requests filed by the citizens was less than 20 percent.

“The purpose of the establishment of Punjab Information Commission (PIC) was to make sure the implementation of the RTI Act so that the citizen can avail the information easily from any public body. The PIC has the authority to impose fine on the officials of the government department for denying or delaying the provision of information to the citizen, however, the fine imposing ratio is almost zero.”

According to an SSDO’s report, the government departments are not taking the RTI requests seriously. Out of total 203 requests made, 69 requests received response. A total of 20 responses were received within 14 days after the initial requests. The remaining 49 responses were received after filing compliant to the PIC.

The overall response rate towards the requests filed by SSDO research team remained as low as 34 percent. Whereas, within 14 days of given timeline in the law, only 10 percent of requests by the research team were answered.

The findings show that just like many other human rights related laws, the Punjab Transparency and RTI Act, 2013 also faces serious implementation challenges. Despite the law and the existence of Punjab Information Commission, the provincial departments do not consider this important to answer the queries of general public within the given time.

The SSDO report further stated that deputy commissioners across Punjab were not very responsive towards the information sought under the Right to Information Law at the beginning. Only a total of 13 out of 36 had responded to the constitutional right of Pakistani citizens till the finalisation of report.

When contacted, SSDO Executive Director Syed Kausar Abbas said that having a comprehensive RTI law was a big achievement for a developing country like Pakistan. “The next stage is to have effective implementation of the law which is only possible with the seriousness of the government departments towards the law.”

He said that the PIC needs to take proactive measures in case of denial or delay of information because the public institutions do not consider PIC as a serious notice. The PIC should start penalizing on the officials who are not sharing or delaying the information requested by a citizen, he added.