PAKISTAN: NGO urges lower fees and more effective
information requests
NGO the Centre for Peace and Development Initiative (CPDI)
seeks changes to what it calls the "flawed and restrictive
rules" of the 2002 Freedom of Information Ordinance.
In particular, CPDI urged the government to reduce the high
fees currently charged to requesters and called for the
establishment of fee waiver privileges for poor requesters,
journalists, and civil society groups.
"Pakistan: Changes to Freedom of Information law sought,"
Dawn (Feb. 14, 2006), http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=39190
PAKISTAN: Media experts urge freedom of press Media experts at a forum in Islamabad called for
freedom of the press and withdrawal of all black laws hindering
access to information and freedom of expression. They said
free media and democracy are interlinked. "Free media
cannot flourish in non-democratic societies like Pakistan
where parliament is subservient and judiciary submissive
to military dictators." Read
more.
SOURCE: "Media
experts urge freedom of press,"AsiaMedia (3
May 2005).
Pakistan People's Party, Sen. Babar to introduce Freedom
of Information bill
Senator Farhatullah Babar has said that the Pakistan People’s
Party will once again submit a private member’s bill
on the freedom of information in the Parliament to remove
the serious shortcomings in the Freedom of Information Ordinance
2002. Read
more.
SOURCE: Rasheed Khalid, "PPPP
to move bill on freedom of information: Senator Babar,"Islamabad News (26 March 2005).
The
Constitution
of Pakistan does not expressly give a right of access
to information. Article 19 states:
Every
citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and
expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject
to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest
of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence
of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with
foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or
in relation to contempt of court, commission of or incitement
to an offence.(1)
•
Undernourished people (% of total population),
2000/03: 20
•
Population with sustainable access to an improved
water source (%), 2002: 90
Source:
UN Development Program, Human Development Reports
Data
The
Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that Article 19 includes a right
of citizens to receive information.(2)
In
October 2002, President Perviz Musharraf promulgated the
Freedom
of Information Ordinance 2002, largely at the urging
of the Asian Development Bank.(3) Although
the Ordinance should have lapsed within 6 months, the President
has issued a constitutional decree which has ensured the
continuance of the Ordinance. The Ombudsman ruled in April
2004 that the Ordinance still was in force even in the absence
of the regulations.(4) Rules were issued
in June 2004, but without any input from stakeholders.(5)
Civil society groups have since lobbied the Government to
implement Model
Rules, but to no avail.
It
allows any citizen access to official records held by a
public body of the federal government including ministries,
departments, boards, councils, courts and tribunals. It
does not apply to government-owned corporations or to provincial
governments. The bodies must respond within 21 days.
There
is some ambiguity about what information is accessible.
The Ordinance allows access to "official records"
and then sets out an exceptions regime subject to a harm
test for international relations, law enforcement; invasion
of privacy; and economic and commercial affairs of a public
body. However, it also allows access to "public records"
which it specifically defines as only policies and guidelines;
transactions involving acquisition and disposal of property;
licenses and contracts; final orders and decisions; and
other records as notified by the government. It then makes
these public records subject to mandatory exemptions for:
notings on files; minutes of meetings; any intermediary
opinion or recommendation; individuals' bank account records;
defense forces and national security; classified information;
personal privacy; documents given in confidence; other records
decreed by the government.
Government
bodies are required to appoint an official to handle requests.
They also have a duty to publish acts, regulations, manuals,
orders and other rules that have a force of law, and maintain
and index records. It specifically requires that those records
covered by it are computerized and networked throughout
the country within a reasonable time, subject to finances,
to facilitate access.
Appeals
of denials can be made to the Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman)
or for tax-related matters, to the Federal Tax Ombudsman.
The Ombudsmen have the power to make binding orders. Officials
that destroy records with the intention of preventing disclosure
can be fined and imprisoned for up to two years. The Mohtasib
can fine requesters Rs10,000 for making "frivolous,
vexatious or malicious" complaints.
The
law says that it applies notwithstanding other laws such
as the Official Secrets Act, which is based on the original
UK OSA 1911 and sets broad restrictions on the disclosure
of classified information.(6) The Consumer
Rights Commission of Pakistan has called for the repeal
of the OSA to facilitate freedom of information.
Media
groups and NGOs report that the Act has not been fully implemented
and access is still difficult.(7) As recently
as March 2006, the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives
held a workshop for the Cabinet Division of Government following
which it commented that many information officers are still
not fully aware of their roles and responsibilities under
the Ordinance. CPDI complained that implementation of the
Ordinance still requires a major cultural and attitudinal
shift on the part of government officials. It recommended
that the government improve the current restrictive legislative
framework, organize training and sensitization workshops,
provide clear and detailed guidelines to designated officers
about dealing with information requests and ensure that
all ministries prepare lists and indexation of records held
by them and publish them on websites.(8)
It has also demanded that all parliamentary committees promote
greater access to information to open up government decision-making
processes, because most committees considering legislative
bills or performing oversight duties hold their meetings
privately without disclosing their minutes.(9)
The
National Assembly rejected an attempt by the opposition
Pakistan People's Party in October 2004 to introduce a bill
to create a comprehensive law on freedom of information.
None
of the 4 provinces has adopted FOI laws for information
held by provincial bodies. Two ministers from the North
Western Frontier Province (NWFP) promised in August 2004
to adopt a FOI law for NWPF.(10)
15
FEBRUARY 2004 PAKISTAN:
Journalist Critiques Secrecy The
News (Pakistan) opines on the dangers of secrecy
in Pakistan. Beena Sarwar suggests that accountability is
a key ingredient of democracy—but there is little
evidence of either in Pakistan.
Ironically,
Pakistan is the first country in South Asia to enact a Freedom
of Information Ordinance - in 1997 through a presidential
order, under a caretaker set-up. The Ordinance, thoroughly
debated by citizens' rights groups, lapsed after it was
neither re-promulgated nor placed before the next elected
parliament for legislation. The present Freedom of Information
Ordinance was also enacted by a Presidential Ordinance under
a military government, in September 2002, but the passage
of the 17th Amendment has made it a law which needs no ratification
by parliament.
Of course, parliamentarians can and should debate the merits
and demerits of this law, which is fairly restrictive regarding
the information that citizens are entitled to. Clause 8,
for example, excludes notes on files, minutes of meetings,
any intermediary opinion or recommendation, and 'any other
record which the Federal Government may, in public interest,
exclude from the purview of this Ordinance'. Such restrictions
virtually render the law 'toothless', as the eminent jurist
Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim puts it - particularly since 'public
interest' appears to keep changing in this country, as the
last couple of years dramatically illustrate.
10
DECEMBER 2003
PAKISTAN: No Implementation of Freedom of Information Ordinance Pakistan's
Dawn Newspaperreports
that the Pakistani Freedom of Information Ordinance (FOI)
2002, which had been enacted to ensure transparency and
good governance in government departments, has still not
been implemented despite passage of more than a year.
In
a joint press statement issued by the Consumer Rights Commission
of Pakistan (CRCP) and Centre for Civic Education Pakistan
(CCE) on the eve of International Human Rights Day, both
organizations maintained that without promulgating the rules
of business, the government's commitment towards FOI was
nothing less than lip service.
29
SEPTEMBER 2003
PAKISTAN: NGO Calls for Implementation of FOI Legislation Pakistan
Link reports on recent
NGO consultations on the Freedom of Information Ordinance
(FOI)-2002. Led by the Center for Civic Education-Pakistan
and Consumers Rights Commission of Pakistan in collaboration
with National Democratic Institute of International Affairs
(NDI), the groups drafted model rules of business that will
be presented to the government for consideration.
The
speakers exhorted that the FOI is about a new mind set in
the governance. “The attitudes and psyche developed
under the shadows of Official Secret Act-1923 would have
to go to usher upon a new era of information disclosure,”
said speakers. The implementation of FOI is a process, said
Mary Cummins and this process can’t be completed within
days. The parliamentarians at the consultation said, FOI
is a first good step, its deficits could be discussed in
the legislature to improve it.
Exclusions
on the name of national security were also discussed. “Such
exclusions could be tolerated only up to operational defense
matters but not about the personal conduct of various officers,”
said the MMA representative.
26
OCTOBER 2002
PAKISTAN: President Promulgates Freedom of Information Ordinance-2002
Pakistan's English Daily, Dawn reports that President Pervez Musharraf
has promulgated the 'Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002',
binding the future political government to guarantee access
to the information on all official records except for the
details pertaining to national security.
6.
For a detailed review of the situation of freedom of
information in Pakistan until 2001, See Article 19, Global
Trends on the Right to Information: A Survey of South Asia,
July 2001. Available at http://www.article19.org/
7.
Information law not being implemented, Daily Times,
4 October 2004.
8.
CPDI, CPDI-Pakistan Calls for Designated Officers to
Take Effective Steps to Implement the Freedom of Information
Ordinance 2002", 2006
9.
CPDI, CPDI-Pakistan Demands Transparency in the Functioning
of Parliamentary Committees", 2006.
10.
Access to information in NWFP promised, Dawn, 14 August
2004.
"While
fairly restrictive regarding the information that
citizens are entitled to, a Freedom of Information
Ordinance became law after being enacted by Presidential
Ordinance in 2002."
1)
Voice and Accountability: -1.31
2) Political Instability and Violence: -1.59
3) Government Effectiveness: -0.57
4) Regulatory Burden: -1.03
5) Rule of Law: -0.78
6) Control of Corruption: -0.87
