Govt urged to complete Pakistan Information Commission

Islamabad : The civil society has urged federal government to urgently complete the Pakistan Information Commission as more than 700 appeals are pending with the Commission.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO) urged Federal government to fill the vacant chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner seats of Pakistan Information Commission so that the institution could fulfil its constitutional responsibilities. Chief Information Commissioner and two Information Commissioners constitutes the commission and are responsible to hear the appeals.

Chief Information Commissioner Muhammad Azam and one Information Commissioner Fawad Malik have been retired on November 07, 2022 while the other Information Commissioner Zahid Abdullah will retire on November 17, 2022.

There are more than 700 appeals pending at the commission and with the retirement of these commissioners, these appeals will remain pending until the hiring of new information commissioners. Outgoing Chief Information Commission wrote a letter to Secretary Information and Broadcasting for starting the process of hiring on September 07, 2022 as it could take at least 2 months to fulfil the vacancies but process have not been initiated yet. Pakistan Information Commission is an independent and autonomous enforcement body, established under Section 18 of the Right of Access to Information Act 2017 to ensure implementation of this Act.

Its role is to establish mechanisms so that citizens of Pakistan can exercise their constitutional right of access to information in matters of public importance. In this connection, it takes steps for public awareness of the law, helps federal public bodies comply with the law, trains public information officers, monitors their performance, decides complaints and takes action against those failing to comply with the provisions of the Right of Access to Information Act 2017.