Opposition to introduce its own RTI bill in Senate

ISLAMABAD: In a significant move, the joint opposition has decided to introduce its own drafted Right to Information (RTI) bill as a private piece of legislation in the Senate tomorrow (Monday) after having waited for the government’s promised initiative for three years.

The title of the bill is: The Right to Information Bill, 2016 for a rapid and low-cost manner subject only to reasonable restrictions established by law.

The bill, cleared by the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting in 2014, has considerably minimised exemptions to certain state institutions and also has a provision for the whistle-blower.

The draft bill is on the orders of the day, fixed for November 21 and its movers are Kamil Ali Agha, Rubina Irfan, Farhatullah Babar, Karim Khawaja and Daud Achakzai.

“Yes, we have decided to move the bill in the Senate for its adoption and will see how the government reacts to it, which had already promised to bring the bill but never fulfilled it,” said Senator Kamil Agha, who is chairman of the House Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, when The News contacted him on phone.

Farhatullah Babar, who played a key role in the drafting of the bill, told this correspondent that they were confident of passage of the bill from the Senate and there would be a question mark on its adoption by the National Assembly. Babar headed a sub-committee that had drafted the proposed piece of legislation.

He charged that after the committee had passed the bill several months back, it offered the government to table it, as it had not opposed it in the committee. “Then information minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid had made a commitment of presenting it in the cabinet for approval too. But this never happened and now we have been compelled to take the initiative on our own,” he noted.

Babar said they had all the relevant record regarding the proposed piece of legislation, having been endorsed by the Ministry of Law as well as the Ministry of Information, which was also endorsed not only by locally but also by the international media.

He explained that certain institutions, including the judiciary, the military and the Parliament were given exemptions but under this bill, these had been substantially minimised and even if an institution declined to share a certain piece of information, it would have to explain reasons for this.

The bill, he explained, had taken care of the key subjects such as the national security, foreign affairs and the law-enforcement agencies. Babar believed that the government would be bringing its own bill now after the opposition’s bill in the Senate.

Early this year, the prime minister had formed a special five-member special committee to evaluate the RTI bill. But no headway was apparently made to the satisfaction of the combined opposition.

The PTI Senator Azam Swati had also drafted two important bills, which are listed also on the orders of the day: they are; a bill further to amend the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 2010, The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Bill, 2016.

The other bill aims at further amending the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000, in its application to the Islamabad Capital Territory (The Juvenile Justice System (Amendment) Bill, 2016).

Moreover, the PPP’s Karim Khawaja has also drafted the bill and it is also part of the orders of the day: the bill provides for the establishment of the National Commission for International Law and Commitments (The National Commission for International Law and Commitments Bill, 2016).