Fate of draft RTI law hangs in balance

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information has once again failed to table draft Right to Information (RTI) law in the cabinet meeting on Monday despite repeated promises. The PTI government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has also failed to undo the controversial amendments made in June this year despite promises to reverse them in the ‘next’ assembly session that was prorogued last week after remaining in session for several days.
As for the federal law is concerned, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervaiz Rashid told ‘The News’ last Friday that the draft bill would be presented in the ‘next’ cabinet meeting. He stopped short of disclosing when the meeting would be held but the cabinet met on Monday, however, without taking up the bill.
Earlier, the federal secretary information assured the Senate Standing Committee on Information in July this year about the tabling of this bill in the ‘next’ cabinet meeting. Prime minister had written to the authorities concerned for presenting the bill for approval, he further told the committee.
While the secretary information was in Bangkok when inquired from his office, the Principle Information Officer (PIO) confirmed that the bill was not tabled though there were 120 other agenda items taken up by the meeting.
The draft bill is an ‘if’ away for bringing Pakistan a distinction of having the best RTI law in the world but apprehensions are abounds regarding the government’s intention as its fate hangs in the balance.
Canada-based Center for Law and Democracy (CLD) that does international ranking of the RTI laws in different countries has examined the draft bill to conclude that it will be the best law in the world pushing Pakistan atop in the country-wise ranking from the bottom position allocated due to the existing Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 introduced by Pervez Musharraf.
As the cabinet meeting is not regularly held since the government, according to information minister, mostly remains busy in the crisis management, it is hard to predict that how long it will take to hold that ‘next’ meeting taking up this bill.
The situation in KP is not different either. The PTI government had taken a lead in introducing relatively strong RTI law only to make it toothless in June this year by approving controversial amendments. Included among them were the exclusion of the provincial assembly from RTI domain and making the information commission subservient to the district courts.
According to the newly introduced amendments, the public has been denied their right to ask any question about the provincial assembly that is otherwise financed through the taxpayers’ money whereas an appeal can be made against the information commission’s decision before the district court.
While the former amendment created a lot of hue and cry forcing the PTI chairman to pledge its reversal in the ‘next’ assembly session, the commission’s subordination to the lower court being a relatively technical issue couldn’t gain matching attention of the public at large.
About the exclusion of the assembly from RTI domain, Imran Khan said it would be reversed in the assembly session that was to start by July end. The assembly remained in session and later prorogued but no effort was made to keep the promise.
The government that wanted to do it through a private member bill failed to introduce it as the mover, Shaukat Youzafzai, was in Paris.
On the other hand, there is no pledge to upgrade the status of the information commission that wanted its verdict to be challenged before a division bench of the high court instead of the district court.