LHC registrar asked to appoint public information officer

LAHORE: Punjab Information Commission has directed the registrar of Lahore High Court (LHC) to appoint public information officer, and to decide applications by citizens under the Right to Information Act (RTI) within 10 days. 

The commission issued the directive on an application of lawyer from Gujranwala, Muhammad Waseem Elahi, who had asked the registrar several questions about judges' security and salaries. The questions are: how many policemen are detailed for the security, how much are the security budget and the annual expenses, and how much is the salaries and perks' budget. He also also sought information about the free legal aid cell, if there was any in the LHC. The lawyer complained that the information was not given to him. The commission directive also sought explanation as to why the information was not provided to the applicant. 

Information Commissioner Mukhtar Ahmad Ali told Jang that the RTI had been in force since 2013 and every institution was bound to appoint its PIO in 60 days. All big institutions, including the CM secretariat, Governor's House and the Punjab Assembly, had appointed their PIOs.