Foreign junkets

Pakistan may be the only country in the world where politicians prefer to discuss their internal administrative matters by calling meetings of state officials in foreign lands. Pakistan may also be the only country where this practice is considered kosher and no questions are asked about ‘who foots the bill’ for these junkets.
Recently, two Karachi citizens decided to break their silence and wrote to the Sindh chief minister and the chief secretary, seeking information under the Sindh Freedom of Information Act 2006 and Article 19A of the constitution. In their joint application, they argued that it was the right of every citizen to seek information from any government functionary, especially on matters relating to the use of official funds. The request for information sought facts and records relating to the visit of the Sindh chief minister, ministers, parliamentarians and other government officials who visited the UAE from January 1, 2010 till today for attending meetings related to the province of Sindh, party meetings or any other individual or collective meetings with party leaders. While the applicants are hopeful, most others have termed this accountability exercise a waste of time by a bunch of dreamy idealists. Can one hope that the eternal chief minister of Sindh and his chief secretary will not disappoint the applicants, follow the law and state the truth?
Naeem Sadiq
Karachi