Forty years and 4000 kilometres away, Nadya Pravyk gazed mesmerised at the ethereal, incandescent beam of light that shot up to the sky, ripping the heavens apart. And yet with the taste of metal in her mouth, her skin prickling and the distant sound of sirens, she knew with deadly certainty that this vision was anything but celestial. A mere 30 kilometres away stood Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, with its core fully exposed to the world.
What causes a nuclear reactor to not just melt down, but also explode catastrophically? What leads to 4000 deaths and 20,000 cancer cases worldwide? And what could possibly cause massive losses to the tune of $700 billion? These were the questions on everyone’s minds. Unbeknownst to the engineers at Chernobyl, the RBMK reactor they worked on had fatal flaws. The dangers of these flaws had been mentioned in reports by Soviet scientists but were kept secret.
The engineers at Chernobyl were thus destined to fail, doomed by the culture of secrecy that valued control over human lives and scientific truth. That fateful April night the cost of secrets was paid, in full.
This catastrophe illuminates a fundamental principle: transparency is crucial. The solution to preventing such disasters lies in what legal scholars call the Right of Access to Information (RTI). Recognised under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 19-A of the constitution of Pakistan, this right gives citizens access to information of public importance, subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law.
Ranking 32nd out of 140 countries that have adopted RTI laws, Pakistan has gained global recognition for incorporating international best practices while devising the Right of Access to Information Act, 2017. Covering all public entities, including the National Assembly, Senate, Supreme Court, federal ministries, corporations funded or owned by the federal government, private entities performing public functions and NGOs funded or given benefits by the federal government, citizens have the right to access information linked to all these departments. Even information regarding the commercial and welfare activities of the defence forces falls within the ambit of this law, although general records pertaining to national security have been excluded. Through a simple written request, any citizen can access information from these public bodies, without providing any justification for the request.
To facilitate citizens, the law mandates public bodies to proactively disclose various categories of information, including organisational details, finances, policies, contracts and public services. To further expedite the process, the act mandates a limit of 10 working days for processing requests and three days in cases of a threat to life and liberty. Simplifying things, the RTI law declares that every public body needs to appoint a public information officer (PIO), who will ensure full compliance of the Act. In case a citizen’s request is rejected, he/she can appeal to the Information Commission, which can order the disclosure of information and even penalise officials who obstruct access.
The law also mandates that a request cannot be denied simply on the basis of exemption, particularly in cases where public interest overrides any harm from disclosure.
On paper, this law appears to be perfect. Not only does it call for proactive disclosure, it has an independent mechanism for appeals and rather narrow exemptions. However, the reality on the ground is very different. First, most citizens are completely unaware that the right of access to information is one of the fundamental rights granted to them. According to the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives, around 84 per cent of citizens were unaware of the existence of RTI laws.
Second, even if a citizen manages to submit an RTI request, bureaucratic hurdles get in the way and their requests are more often than not rejected. This can be seen from the fact that the Punjab Information Commission has a massive backlog of appeals, as initial requests to PIOs are often rejected. Third, the effectiveness of RTI laws varies dramatically by province. While Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have excellent RTI laws and effective Information Commissions, the commissions in Sindh and Balochistan are largely non-functional.
Lastly, and most importantly, the political and institutional will to ensure the implementation of RTI laws is missing. This is a profound strategic miscalculation, as it is the government that is set to benefit most from RTI laws.
With the advent of social media and the rise of Artificial Intelligence, there has been a sudden proliferation of misinformation, disinformation and fake news in the digital space. Government authorities worldwide have reacted by spending billions of dollars to curb this menace. However, what states fail to realise is that misinformation thrives in an information vacuum. When citizens do not have access to credible, official data, rumours are bound to fly.
Lack of access to information on budgetary allocations, procurement records and the policymaking process further enflames the situation, by creating room for fabrications, as facts are nowhere to be found. Once such fabrications go viral, a toxic void rife with discontent and misinformation is created. Through the proper use of RTI laws, vital information can be published proactively. Not only will this help reduce the incidence of fake news, but it will also increase the public’s trust in governmental institutions, making it harder for disinformation to take root.
The active use of RTI laws will also provide citizens and journalists with the ability to easily fact-check viral claims, thereby decreasing the burden on governmental fact-checking. This increased citizen participation will help reduce conflicts in society, paving the way for effective governance. The economic benefits of RTI laws will be unprecedented as transparency increases investor confidence, thereby boosting foreign investments. It goes without saying that the key to unleashing these benefits is developing a mature mindset that views our citizens and journalists as incredible assets with immense strategic potential, rather than a threat to be silenced.
The benefits are not just limited to domestic matters. Internationally, too, RTI laws hold profound importance as they enable cross-border sharing of information. This is evident from the theme chosen by the UN for this year’s International Day for Universal Access to Information, being observed today (September 28). The theme focuses on the importance of collaboration on environmental information, particularly for populations vulnerable to climate disasters.
For Pakistan, a country battling the worst effects of climate change, this is a welcome development indeed, especially in the wake of India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. RTI laws can enable collaborative, cross-border environmental action through the sharing of data regarding rivers, dams and emissions. This can thus help frame our shared ecological reality from an evidence-based perspective, rather than a political one, saving millions of lives in both countries and billions of dollars in economic losses.
The benefits of RTI laws are thus incontestable, not just for citizens but for governments too. Used wisely, they can help bridge the gap between our citizens and the state, reducing chaos and strife. In a region where floods, smog and droughts recognise no borders, secrecy is dangerous. Unless information flows as freely as the rivers and winds, South Asia risks losing the battle for its survival.
The writer is a civil servant working at the Press Information Department, Karachi.
